The Light and Period Variations of the Eclipsing Binary BX Draconis

Abstract

Abstract New CCD photometric observations of BX Dra were carried out on 26 nights during the period from 2009 April to 2010 June. The long-term photometric behaviors of the system are obtained from detailed studies of the period and light variations, based on historical data and our new observations. All available light curves display total eclipses at secondary minima and inverse O'Connell effects with Max I fainter than Max II, which were satisfactorily modeled by adding a slightly time-varying hot spot on the primary star. A total of 87 times of minimum lights spanning over $ \sim$ 74 yr, including our 22 timing measurements, were used for ephemeris computations. A detailed analysis of the $ O$$-$$ C$ diagram disclosed that the orbital period shows an upward parabola in combination with a sinusoidal variation. The continuous increase of period at a rate of $ +$ 5.65 $ \times$ 10$ ^{-7}$ d yr$ ^{-1}$ is consistent with that calculated from the Wilson–Devinney synthesis code. It can be interpreted as a mass transfer from the secondary star to the primary at a rate of 2.74 $ \times$ 10$ ^{-7}$$ M_{\odot}$ yr$ ^{-1}$ , which is one of the largest rates between components of the contact system. The most likely explanation of the sinusoidal variation having a period of 30.2 yr and a semiamplitude of 0.0062 d is a light-travel-time effect due to the existence of a circumbinary object. We suggest that BX Dra is probably a triple system, consisting of a primary star with a spectral type of F0, its secondary component of spectral type F1–2, and an unseen circumbinary object with a minimum mass of $ M_3$$ =$ 0.23 $ M_{\odot}$.