Period changes in six semi-detached Algol-type binaries

Abstract

Six semi-detached Algol-type binaries lacking a period analysis were chosen to test for a presence of a third body. The O–C diagrams of these binaries were analyzed with the least-squares method by using all available times of minima. Also 14 new minima, obtained from our observations, were included in the present research. The light-time effect was adopted as a main factor for the detailed description of the long-term period changes. Third bodies were found with orbital periods from 46 up to 84 years, and eccentricities from 0.0 to 0.78 for the selected binaries. The mass functions and the minimal masses of such bodies were also calculated.