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A note on thermally decoupled W Ursae Majoris systems

1988; Institute of Physics; Volume: 100; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/132180

1538-3873

Sebastian Lipari, R. F. Sisteró,

High-pressure geophysics and materials

The thermal decoupling degree of short-period contact or near-contact systems is studied. Statistics of well-observed W UMa systems including new beta-light-curve objects was made for thermal-decoupling degree, spectral type, and orbital period. W UMa systems of type A and W are found to be well characterized by these parameters. W-type objects show a good (linear) correlation in the spectral type vs. thermal-decoupling parameter diagram. This extends to the lower border of the diagram for A-type systems, otherwise scattered in an area of large thermal decoupling. These empirical facts are analyzed in terms of contact or noncontact configurations.