Further Discussion of Binary Star Radio Survey Data

E. Budding
O. B. Slee
K. Jones.

Central Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 40740, Wellington, New Zealand. Carter Observatory, P.O. Box 2909, Wellington, New Zealand. Edwin.Budding@cit.ac.nz Australia Telescope National Facility, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia. BSLEE@atnf.CSIRO.au Physics Department, University of Queensland, Private Bag, Brisbane, Australia. jones@physics.uq.oz.au

Keywords: Binary stars, RS CVns, Algols, radio emission

Abstract:

Statistical information on 8280 individual radio observations of binary stars, predominantly at 8.4 GHz using the Parkes 64m antenna, is presented. Three main groups are distinguished: (i) RS CVn stars, (ii) classical Algol binaries (EA2s) and (iii) detached pairs of generally early type (`ETB's).

The RS CVn stars more frequently gave rise to detectable fluxes, while the ETBs, in this data, are a small and rather heterogeneous class. The Algols' emission appears to increase near conjunction phases, though we cannot clearly distinguish any special property of the Algols' phase-dependant behaviour which is not also shared by the RS CVn binaries. Both these categories' data show a bimodal, phase-dependent pattern to the distribution of detections, suggesting both binary types share similar underlying physical properties, though there could also be other factors at play. The sample sizes of the Algols and particularly the ETB detections are too small for effective, discriminatory statistics, however.

© Copyright Astronomical Society of Australia 1997