A test of an early-type contact binary model by comparing the relations obtained from theory with those from observations

Abstract

Contact binary systems, including massive, middle-mass and low-mass systems, have been observed. It is necessary to construct the evolutionary model for contact binary systems with all different masses. The model introduced by Huang, Song and Bi indicates some special and unique understandings of the physical processes occurring in the contact binaries. It is necessary to test whether this model can be applied to the early-type contact binaries. The best way to test a theoretical model is to know whether this model can explain the observational phenomena of such binaries. For this aim, a comparison is performed for the relations of mass-luminosity, mass-radius, and the distribution in the HR diagram obtained from the model introduced by Huang et al. and those from the astronomical observations. A good result is obtained by the comparison. This means the model can be used in calculating the evolution of early-type contact binaries, and can explain the observational phenomena of such binaries.