CCD Photometry and Roche Modeling of the Eclipsing Overcontact Binary Star System TYC 01963-0488-1

Volume 44 number 2 (2016)

Download this article (pdf)

Kevin B. Alton

UnderOak Observatory, 70 Summit Ave, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927; kbalton@optonline.net

Abstract

TYC 01963-0488-1 (ASAS J094440+2632.1) is a W UMa binary system (P=0.427036 d) which has been largely overlooked since first being detected nearly 15 years ago by the ROTSE-I telescope. Other than the monochromatic ROTSE-I survey data, no multi-colored light curves (LC) have been published. Photometric data collected in three bandpasses (B, V and Ic) at UnderOak Observatory (UO) produced 5 new times-of-minimum for TYC 01963-0488-1 which were used to establish a linear ephemeris from the first Min I epoch (HJD0). No published radial velocity data are available for this system; however, since this W UMa binary undergoes very obvious total eclipses, Roche modeling yielded a well-constrained photometric value for q (~0.25). There is a suggestion from the ROTSE-I data and new results herein that Max II is more variable than Max I. Therefore, Roche model fits for the TYC 01963-0488-1 LCs collected in 2015 were assessed with and without spots.