Photometry of long-period algol binaries. III - The accretion disk and mass transfer in RZ Ophiuchi

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (15) References (22) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Photometry of Long Period Algol Binaries. III. The Accretion Disk and Mass Transfer in RZ Ophiuchi Olson, Edward C. Abstract Five-color photometric observations of RZ Oph have been obtained from 1981 through 1986, in an effort to deduce the properties of the accretion disk in this long-period Algol. The partial eclipse of the disk by the cool star, and the partial occultation of the cool star by the disk, have both been observed in some detail. A simple gravitationally stratified model of the disk accounts very well for the emitted flux. The disk is viewed nearly edge-on, and is of moderate optical thickness. The principal extinction source in the disk is Rayleigh scattering from neutral hydrogen, and H(-) contributes to the thermal absorption. Disk temperatures run from about 5600 K to about 4400 K at the edge of the disk, and the disk appears to overflow the Roche lobe of the hot star. Most of the disk's luminosity is supplied by gravitational accretion, implying a mass-transfer rate of less than about 10 to the -6th solar mass/yr. Brightness fluctuations of the disk seem to account for small intrinsic scatter that is present in the observations at most phases. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: November 1987 DOI: 10.1086/114568 Bibcode: 1987AJ.....94.1309O Keywords: Accretion Disks; Astronomical Photometry; Binary Stars; Mass Transfer; Cool Stars; Hot Stars; Light Curve; Luminosity; Optical Thickness; Roche Limit; Astrophysics; STARS: BINARIES; STARS: ECLIPSING BINARIES full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (2) Related Materials (5) Part 1: 1986AJ.....91.1418O Part 2: 1986AJ.....91.1421O Part 4: 1988AJ.....96.1439O Part 5: 1989AJ.....97..505O Part 6: 1989AJ.....98.1002O