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Full-Text Articles in Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy
Probing Massive Contact Binary Star Evolution Via Measurements Of Orbital Period Changes, Henry Phippen, Levi Carr, Larry A. Molnar
Probing Massive Contact Binary Star Evolution Via Measurements Of Orbital Period Changes, Henry Phippen, Levi Carr, Larry A. Molnar
Summer Research
Many stars have companions orbiting so closely that they share a common atmosphere: contact binary stars (see Figure 1). High and low mass systems differ significantly in key observable properties such as mass ratio. In the accompanying poster (Carr et al. 2023), we show that considerations of dynamic and thermal stability prohibit nearly equal masses for low mass (sun-like) systems, but not for high mass systems. Menon et al. (2021) recently published models of the behavior of massive systems under the approximation that the internal structures of the stars are not affected by their being in contact. A key observable …
The Final Step In Contact Binary Star Formation, Larry A. Molnar, Levi Carr, Henry Phippen
The Final Step In Contact Binary Star Formation, Larry A. Molnar, Levi Carr, Henry Phippen
Summer Research
A binary star is a system that contains two stars orbiting each other. A contact binary is a binary star whose component stars are so close that they share the same atmosphere (see Figure 1). They are the most common kind of eclipsing binary stars. Critical questions we have answered are: how do they form, how do they survive for a long time, and how do they ultimately die?
Formation Of Contact Binary Stars: Magnetic Braking, Lau Jenn Feng, Levi Carr, Larry A. Molnar
Formation Of Contact Binary Stars: Magnetic Braking, Lau Jenn Feng, Levi Carr, Larry A. Molnar
Summer Research
No abstract provided.
Formation Of Contact Binary Stars: 1) Kozai Cycles With Tidal Friction, Levi Carr, Lau Jenn Feng, Larry A. Molnar
Formation Of Contact Binary Stars: 1) Kozai Cycles With Tidal Friction, Levi Carr, Lau Jenn Feng, Larry A. Molnar
Summer Research
A binary star is a system that contains two stars orbiting each other. A contact binary is a binary star whose component stars are so close that they share the same atmosphere (see Figure 1 on far right). They are the most common kind of eclipsing binary stars. Critical questions to be answered are: how do they form, how do they survive for a long time, and how do they ultimately die? This summer’s work focused on the first of those questions. A process is needed to bring a widely separated binary into contact. It has been suggested this requires …
Using Mesa To Test Our Theory Of Contact Binary Star Evolution, Lauren Henderson, Jenn Lau, Larry A. Molnar
Using Mesa To Test Our Theory Of Contact Binary Star Evolution, Lauren Henderson, Jenn Lau, Larry A. Molnar
Summer Research
A contact binary star system consists of two stars orbiting each other so closely that they share a common atmosphere. Nearly 1% of stars like our sun are contact binaries, yet there is not a comprehensive model of their lives. Our goal is to understand the formation, life, and explosive demise of these objects. This summer we did the first comprehensive calculations of contact binary lifetimes from when they first come into contact until they reach instability.
Using Mesa To Test Our Theory Of Contact Binary Star Evolution, Lauren Henderson, Anneke Avery, Gia Mien Le, Larry A. Molnar
Using Mesa To Test Our Theory Of Contact Binary Star Evolution, Lauren Henderson, Anneke Avery, Gia Mien Le, Larry A. Molnar
Summer Research
A contact binary star system consists of two stars orbiting each other so closely that they share a common atmosphere (Figure 1). Nearly 1% of stars like our sun are contact binaries, yet there is not a comprehensive model of their lives. Our goal is to understand the formation, life, and explosive demise of these objects. This summer we used MESA, a stellar modeling program, paired with a Python program to model the lives of contact binary stars.