2006/12/31 by B. Paczynski, B. Paczyński, R. Sienkiewicz +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11822.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.378:961-965,2007 · 5 pages, 6 figures, Accepted to MNRAS, content changed
arxiv created 2007/03/31 · openalex publication_date 2007/06/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The contact binary AW UMa has an extreme mass ratio, with the more-massive component (the current primary) close to the main sequence, while the low-mass star at q≈ 0.1 (the current secondary) has a much larger radius than a main-sequence star of a comparable mass. We propose that the current secondary has almost exhausted hydrogen in its centre and is much more advanced in its evolution, as suggested by Stȩpień. Presumably the current secondary lost most of its mass during its evolution with part of it transferred to the current primary. After losing a large fraction of its angular momentum, the binary may evolve into a system of FK Com type.