A Photometric Study of the Contact Binary GR Piscium

Volume 48 number 2 (2020)

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Edward J. Michaels

Stephen F. Austin State University, Department of Physics, Engineering, and Astronomy, P. O. Box 13044, Nacogdoches, TX 75962; emichaels@sfasu.edu

Abstract

High-quality CCD photometric light curves of the eclipsing binary GR Psc are presented. The new multicolor light curves display total eclipses which were analyzed using the Wilson-Devinney program. The light curve solution describes the system as a contact configuration with a mass ratio of M2 / M1 = 0.431, a fill-out of f = 47%, and a small temperature difference between the component stars of ΔT = 51 K. A period study revealed this A-type contact binary has a decreasing orbital period. A small asymmetry was found in the light curves, indicating an elevated temperature in the contact region of the primary star. This hot region is likely the consequence of mass and energy exchange through the connecting neck of the common envelope.