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Long-term starspot activity of the eclipsing binaries BH Vir and WY Cnc

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Abstract

We present the results of multicolor photometry of the two spotted, short-period, late-type RS CVn stars BH Vir and WY Cnc. We have derived the parameters of the binaries’ components, and refined their masses, radii, and luminosities. A strong flare of WY Cnc was detected for the first time, and pre-flare variations of the star’s activity studied. Our observations and published data spanning 40 years are analyzed using a zone starspot model. We demonstrate that the spots are always concentrated near the equators and at intermediate latitudes, with maximum spotted areas as large as 29% for BH Vir and 21% for WY Cnc. The temperature differences between spotted regions and the quiet photosphere were 2300 K (BH Vir) and 1800 K (WY Cnc). The detected long-term brightness variations of BH Vir suggest the existence of an activity cycle with a probable period of 22 years. Both stars have starspots concentrated at two active longitudes separated by approximately half of the orbital period during all the studied seasons; these longitudes remained the same (0° and 184°) for BH Vir over 40 years, whereas they migrated in the direction of the stellar rotation at a rate of 3.8°/yr for WY Cnc, suggesting a cycle of 47 years for the migration of the active longitudes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronomical Observatory, Ural State University, pr. Lenina 51, Yekaterinburg, 620083, Russia

    A. V. Kozhevnikova & V. P. Kozhevnikov

  2. Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchnyĭ, Crimea, 98409, Ukraine

    I. Yu. Alekseev

  3. Western Carolina University, Cullowhea, NC, 28723, USA

    P. A. Heckert

Authors
  1. A. V. Kozhevnikova
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  2. I. Yu. Alekseev
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  3. P. A. Heckert
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  4. V. P. Kozhevnikov
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Original Russian Text © A.V. Kozhevnikova, I.Yu. Alekseev, P.A. Heckert, V.P. Kozhevnikov, 2007, published in Astronomicheskiĭ Zhurnal, 2007, Vol. 84, No. 11, pp. 1029–1045.

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Kozhevnikova, A.V., Alekseev, I.Y., Heckert, P.A. et al. Long-term starspot activity of the eclipsing binaries BH Vir and WY Cnc. Astron. Rep. 51, 932–946 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063772907110066

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063772907110066

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