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KV Vel is a noneclipsing short-period ( P = 0.3571 days) close binary containing a very hot subdwarf primary (77,000 K) and a cool low-mass secondary star (3400 K) that is located at the center of the planetary nebula DS 1. The changes in the orbital period of the close binary were analyzed based on 262 new times of light maximum together with those compiled from the literature. It is discovered that the O − C curve shows a small-amplitude (0.ͩ0034) cyclic period variation with a period of 29.55 yr. The explanation by the solar-type magnetic activity cycles of the cool component is ruled out because the required energies are much larger than the total radiant energy of this component in a whole cycle. Therefore, the cyclic variation was plausibly explained as the light-travel time effect via the presence of a tertiary component, which is supported by the periodic changes of the O − C curve and the rather symmetric and stable light curves obtained by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. The mass of the tertiary companion is determined to be ${M}_{3}\sin i^{\prime} =0.060(\pm 0.007)$ M _⊙ . If the third body is coplanar with the central binary (i.e., $i^{\prime} =62\buildrel{\circ}\over{.} 5$ ), the mass of the tertiary component is computed as M _3 ∼ 0.068 M _⊙ , and thus it would be below the stable hydrogen-burning limit and is a brown dwarf. The orbital separation is shorter than 9.35 au. KV Vel together with its surrounding planetary nebula and the brown-dwarf companion may be formed through the common-envelope evolution after the primary filled its Roche lobe during the early asymptotic giant branch stage.

The sdB-type close binaries are believed to have experienced a common-envelope phase and may evolve into cataclysmic binaries (CVs). About 10% of all known sdB binaries are eclipsing binaries consisting of very hot subdwarf primaries and low-mass companions with short orbital periods. The eclipse profiles of these systems are very narrow and deep, which benefits the determination of high precise eclipsing times and makes the detection of small and close-in tertiary bodies possible. Since 2006 we have monitored some sdB-type eclipsing binaries to search for the close-in substellar companions by analyzing the light travel time effect. Here some progresses of the program are reviewed and the formation of sdB-type binary is discussed.

Mass transfer and accretion are very important to understand the evolution and observational properties of cataclysmic variables (CVs). Due to the lack of an accretion disk, eclipsing profiles of polars are the best source to study the character of mass transfer in CVs. By analyzing long-term photometric variations in the eclipsing polar HU Aqr, the property of mass transfer and accretion are investigated. The correlation between the brightness state change and the variation of the ingress profile suggests that both the accretion hot spot and the accretion stream are produced instantaneously. The observations clearly show that it is the variation of mass transfer causing the brightness state changes that is a direct evidence of variable mass transfer in a CV. It is shown that it is the local dark-spot activity near the L1 point to cause the change of the mass transfer rather than the activity cycles of the cool secondary star. Our results suggest that the evolution of CVs is more complex than that predicted by the standard model and we should consider the effect of variable mass accretion in nova and dwarf nova outbursts.

We present a timing analysis of the eclipsing post-common envelope binary (PCEB) DE CVn. Based on new CCD photometric observations and published data, we found that the orbital period in DE CVn has a cyclic period oscillation with an amplitude of 28.08 s and a period of 11.22 years plus a rapid period decrease at a rate of . According to the evolutionary theory, secular period decreases in PCEBs arise from angular momentum losses (AMLs) driven by gravitational radiation (GR) and magnetic braking (MB). However, the observed orbital decay is too fast to be produced by AMLs via GR and MB, indicating that there could be another AML mechanism. We suggest that a circumbinary disk around DE CVn may be responsible for the additional AML. The disk mass was derived as a few ×10−4–10−3M⊙ , which is in agreement with that inferred from previous studies in the order of magnitude. The cyclic change is most likely the result of the gravitational perturbation by a circumbinary object due to the Applegate’s mechanism failing to explain such a large period oscillation. The mass of the potential third body is calculated as . Supposing the circumbinary companion and the eclipsing binary are coplanar, its mass would correspond to a giant planet. This hypothetical giant planet is moving in a circular orbit of a radius of ∼5.75(±2.02) au around its host star. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1SWASP J162117.36+441254.2 was originally classified as an EW-type binary with a period of 0.20785 days. However, it was detected to have undergone a stellar outburst on 2016 June 3. Although the system was later classified as a cataclysmic variable (CV) and the event was attributed as a dwarf nova outburst, the physical reason is still unknown. This binary has been monitored photometrically since 2016 April 19, and many light curves were obtained before, during, and after the outburst. Those light and color curves observed before the outburst indicate that the system is a special CV. The white dwarf is not accreting material from the secondary and there are no accretion disks surrounding the white dwarf. By comparing the light curves obtained from 2016 April 19 to those from September 14, it was found that magnetic activity of the secondary is associated with the outburst. We show strong evidence that the L1 region on the secondary was heavily spotted before and after the outburst and thus quench the mass transfer, while the outburst is produced by a sudden mass accretion of the white dwarf. These results suggest that J162117 is a good astrophysical laboratory to study stellar magnetic activity and its influences on CV mass transfer and mass accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SDSS J143547.87+373338.5 is a detached eclipsing binary that contains a white dwarf with a mass of 0.5 M⊙ and a fully convective star with a mass of 0.21 M⊙. The eclipsing binary was monitored photometrically from 2009 March 24 to 2015 April 10, by using two 2.4-m telescopes in China and in Thailand. The changes in the orbital period are analyzed based on eight newly determined eclipse times together with those compiled from the literature. It is found that the observed–calculated (O–C) diagram shows a downward parabolic change that reveals a continuous period decrease at a rate of s s−1. According to the standard theory of cataclysmic variables, angular momentum loss (AML) via magnetic braking (MB) is stopped for fully convective stars. However, this period decrease is too large to be caused by AML via gravitational radiation (GR), indicating that there could be some extra source of AML beyond GR, but the predicted mass-loss rates from MB seem unrealistically large. The other possibility is that the O–C diagram may show a cyclic oscillation with a period of 7.72 years and a small amplitude of 0.ͩ000525. The cyclic change can be explained as the light-travel-time effect via the presence of a third body because the required energy for the magnetic activity cycle is much larger than that radiated from the secondary in a whole cycle. The mass of the potential third body is determined to be M⊙ when a total mass of 0.71 M⊙ for SDSS J143547.87+373338.5 is adopted. For orbital inclinations , it would be below the stable hydrogen-burning limit of M3 ∼ 0.072 M⊙, and thus the third body would be a brown dwarf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a timing study of the short-period eclipsing cataclysmic variable (CV) HT Cas. Based on new eclipse times derived from our photometric monitoring and archival optical data, combined with historical timings, spanning ∼42 yr, we detect a secular decrease in the orbital period at a rate of $\dot{P}=-1.32\times {10}^{-12}\,{\mathrm{ss}}^{-1}$ and a cyclic period wiggle with an amplitude of 79.3 s and a period of 30.28 yr. We find that neither gravitational radiation nor magnetic braking can explain the observed decrease rate, suggesting the presence of additional angular momentum loss (AML). The empirical consequential AML (eCAML) model developed by Schreiber et al. can well match the observed orbital decay in HT Cas, and the physical mechanism for eCAML is most likely attributable to the frictional AML following nova eruptions. As for the cyclic variation, the best explanation is the influence of an unseen companion in orbit around the binary. The derived orbital parameters reveal that the hypothetical third body could be a giant planet with mass of M _3 ≃ 14 M _Jup that is moving on a highly eccentric orbit ( e = 0.82). Taken together the results of the present study suggest that HT Cas is a unique triple system containing a high-eccentricity giant planet and it has the potential to become an ideal laboratory in which to test models of CV evolution.

A number of papers deals with the heat conductivity of composite materials: Zarubin et al used new approaches to the problem of evaluation of the effective heat conductivity coefficients of composite material with ball inclusions. We used variational analysis for a simplified model in a vicinity of inclusion. Contemporary computers allow implementing another approach to solving the problem of the effective heat conductivity: it may be modelled by the Brownian motion of virtual heat particles. The main idea is to obtain the exact formula for the heat conductivity for a homogeneous material and subsequently obtain a statistical evaluation of this formula for a composite material.In the present paper we compare two methods for finding the effective heat conductivity coefficients of composite materials by modeling the process of heat conduction via the Brownian motion of virtual heat particles. We consider a composite with ball inclusions of a material with heat conductivity and heat capacity coefficientsdiffering from those of the matrix material. In a computational experiment, we simulate the process of heatconduction through a flat layer of the composite material, which has been heated on one side at the initial moment. In order to find the confidence interval for the effective heat conductivity coefficient, we find, by means of statistics, either the displacement of the center of heat energy, or the probability of a virtual particle to pass through the layer during a certain time. We compare our results with theoretical assessments suggested by other authors.