Variations in the orbital periods of the Algol-type eclipsing binaries RZ Cas and Z Dra

Abstract

A detailed study of variations of the orbital periods of the Algol-type eclipsing binary systems RZ Cas and Z Dra is presented. The fairly complex variations of the periods of both systems can be represented as a superposition of a secular increase of the period, slow periodic fluctuations, and quasiperiodic oscillations with a small amplitude occurring on timescales of decades. The secular increase of the period can be explained by the steady mass transfer from the less massive to the more massive component with conservation of the total angular momentum. The mass-transfer rate is 5.7 × 10−9 M ⊙/yr for RZ Cas and 3.0×10−8 M ⊙/yr for Z Dra. To explain the long-period cyclic variations of the orbital periods of RZCas and Z Dra, it must be assumed that the eclipsing binaries move in long-period orbits. RZ Cas moves with a period of 133 yr around a third body withmass M 3 > 0.55M ⊙, while Z Dra moves with a period of 60 yr around a third body with mass M 3 > 0.7M ⊙. The residual fluctuations of the periods may be due to a superposition of variations due to magnetic cycles and non-stationary ejections of matter.