W UMa-Type Binary Stars in Globular Clusters

Abstract

A sample of 86 contact binary systems in 14 globular clusters with available color index data in B-V or in V-I has been analyzed. A large fraction of all systems (at least one-third) are numerous foreground Galactic disk projections over long lines of sight to the clusters. Since the selection of the cluster members has been based on the MV(log P,color) calibrations, the matter of a metallicity correction required particular attention with the result that such a correction is apparently not needed at the present level of accuracy. Analysis of the color-magnitude and period-color relations shows that globular cluster members have different properties from the Galactic disk contact systems: They are underluminous mainly because of the smaller sizes and, consequently, have shorter orbital periods; the color-index effect of the diminished blanketing is relatively less important, especially for V-I. Among the class 1 members (deviations in MV smaller than 0.5 mag), the most common are blue straggler (BS) systems. The variability amplitudes for the BS systems show a significantly different distribution from that for systems below the turn-off point (TOP): The BS systems in the sample have only small amplitudes (which may be an indication of small mass ratios), while the distribution for the systems below the TOP is peculiar in containing only large-amplitude systems. This difference may be linked to the relatively small number of the detected main-sequence contact systems below the TOP as resulting from an observational selection effect due to the rapidly increasing measurement difficulties below the TOP. As a consequence, efforts at determining the frequency of occurrence of the contact systems below the TOP have been judged to be premature. The frequency among the BS stars could be moderately well established at about 45 ± 10 BS stars per one contact BS binary; thus, contact binaries are about 3 times more common among the BS stars than among the disk population dwarfs. Contact binary systems with periods longer than 0.6 days are absent in the sample, possibly because the more massive stars have left the contact binary domain.