NAM logo, by David Le Conte

Doppler imaging and eclipse mapping of the mass-exchanging binary star, V361 Lyrae.

Ron Hilditch et al. (St. Andrews)

The interacting binary star, V361 Lyr, has an orbital period of 0.31 day, and is composed of a solar-type primary star and a K-type secondary star. The primary fills its Roche lobe, and tranfers mass to the secondary at a rate of ca. 10^-7 solar masses yr^-1 to create an accretion hot spot on the surface of the secondary that is displaced from the line of centres by the coriolis effect. (cf., Hilditch et al., MNRAS 291, 749, 1997).

New BVI light curves, accurate to +/- 0.002m, and radial velocities from UES echelle spectroscopy for V361 Lyr will be presented. These data are being analysed to yield eclipse maps and doppler images of the surfaces of both stars, in order to determine accurate values of the temperature, size, and shape of the accretion region on the secondary, and to investigate the magnetic activity on the primary.

Maintained by Ian Howarth