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We present a summary of the current knowledge about Cepheids in binary systems. We focus on the most recent findings and discoveries, such as the highly increasing number of confirmed and candidate spectroscopic binary Cepheids and the progress in determining their physical parameters. This includes new and newly analyzed binary Cepheids in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. We will provide an update on the project to increase the number of the most valuable Cepheids in double-lined binary (SB2) systems from six to more than 100. To date, we have confirmed 60 SB2 systems, including detecting a significant orbital motion for 37. We identified systems with orbital periods up to five times shorter than the shortest period reported before and systems with mass ratios significantly different from unity (suggesting past binary interactions, including merger events). Both features are essential to understanding how multiplicity affects the formation and destruction of Cepheid progenitors and how this influences global Cepheid properties. We will also present nine new systems composed of two Cepheids. Only one such double Cepheid system was known before., Comment: Accepted for the special issue of Contributions of the Astronomical Observatory Skalnate Pleso "Binary and Multiple Stars in the Era of Big Sky Surveys" (based on the invited talk at the KOPAL 2024 conference)

Recently, a double-lined binary (SB2) classical Cepheid, OGLE-LMC-CEP-1347, was discovered, with the orbital period (P$_{\rm orb} = 59$ days) five times shorter than of any binary Cepheid known before. The expected mass of the Cepheid was below $3.5$ M$_\odot$, which, if confirmed, would also probe the uncharted territory. The system configuration also pointed to the Cepheid as a merger. We present a novel method for determining precise physical parameters of binary Cepheids using both theory and observations. This q-PED method combines the measured mass ratio (q), pulsation (P), and evolutionary (E) models, and the known distance (D) supplemented with multi-band photometry. Applying it, we determined the mass of the Cepheid of $3.42 \pm 0.09$ M$_\odot$, its radius of $13.65 \pm 0.27$ R$_\odot$, the companion mass of $1.89 \pm 0.04$ M$_\odot$ and radius of $12.5 \pm 0.62$ R$_\odot$. With the current configuration, the apparent evolutionary age difference of almost $1$ Gyr between the components strongly favors the Cepheid merger origin scenario. If so, the actual age of the Cepheid would be $1.1$ Gyr, on the edge of Population II stars, indicating a significant fraction of Cepheids may be much older than typically assumed. We also applied our method to an eclipsing binary Cepheid with accurately determined physical parameters, obtaining a close agreement, which confirmed our method's reliability., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to ApJL

Almost half of all classical Cepheids do not pulsate in fundamental mode, and nowadays, the fundamentalization of their higher-mode periods is frequently applied to increase the sample size in astrophysical investigations and allow for comparison with fundamental-mode Cepheids. On the other hand, the relations used to obtain fundamentalized periods are either old or based on small samples that cover narrow period ranges. We used available data of 989 Cepheids pulsating in at least two modes to obtain modern, high-quality empirical fundamentalization relations applicable in a wide range of periods of first- and second-overtone Cepheids for metallicities typical for the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. A clear correlation between the features of these relations and metallicity is seen, and periods with lower sensitivity to metallicity are identified. We also compare our results with double-mode Cepheids from the M31 and M33 galaxies. For the first galaxy, this indicates Cepheids have metallicities from supersolar to typical for the LMC, while for the latter, from solar to typical for the SMC. A general discussion of the usage of a different type of fundamentalization relations depending on the scientific problem is included., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Type II Cepheids are old pulsating stars that can be used to trace the distribution of an old stellar population and to measure distances to globular clusters and galaxies within several megaparsecs. One method that can be used to measure the distances of Type II Cepheids relies on period-luminosity relations, which are quite widely explored in the literature. The semi-geometrical Baade-Wesselink technique is another method that allows distances of radially pulsating stars, such as Type II Cepheids, to be measured if the so-called projection factor is known. Using the surface brightness-colour relation version of the Baade-Wesselink technique, we determined the projection factors and radii of eight nearby BL Her type stars. We adopted accurate distances of target stars from Gaia Data Release 3. Time series photometry in the V and K bands have been collected with two telescopes located at the Rolf Chini Cerro Murphy Observatory, while spectroscopic data have been obtained with instruments hosted by the European Southern Observatory. The measured projection factors for the stars with good quality data are in the range between 1.21 and 1.36. The typical uncertainty of projection factors is 0.1. The mean value is 1.330$\pm$0.058, which gives the uncertainty of $\sim$4%. The main sources of uncertainty on the p-factors are statistical errors of the Baade-Wesselink fit and parallax. In the case of radii, the biggest contribution to the error budget comes from the K band photometry systematic uncertainty and parallax. The determined radii allowed us to construct the period-radius relation for BL Her stars. Our period-radius relation is in good agreement with the previous empirical calibration, while two theoretical calibrations found in the literature agree with our relation within 2$\sigma$. We also confirm that BL Her and RR Lyr stars obey an apparent common period-radius relation., Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, 6 tables, Accepted for publication in A&A

We present a progress report of our project aiming to increase the number of known Cepheids in double-lined binary (SB2) systems from six to 100 or more. This will allow us, among other goals, to accurately measure masses for a large sample of Cepheids. Currently, only six accurate Cepheid masses are available, which hinders our understanding of their physical properties and renders the Cepheid mass--luminosity relation poorly constrained. At the same time, Cepheids are widely used for essential measurements (e.g., extragalactic distances, the Hubble constant). To examine Cepheid period--luminosity relations, we selected as binary candidates Cepheids that are too bright for their periods. To date, we have confirmed 56 SB2 systems, including the detection of significant orbital motions of the components for 32. We identified systems with orbital periods up to five times shorter than the shortest reported period to date, as well as systems with mass ratios significantly different from unity (suggesting past merger events). Both features are essential to understand how multiplicity affects the formation and destruction of Cepheid progenitors and what effect this has on global Cepheid properties. We also present eight new systems composed of two Cepheids (only one such system was known before). Among confirmed SB2 Cepheids, there are also several wide-orbit systems. In the future, these may facilitate independent accurate geometric distance measurements to the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, published in the Proceedings of the IAU, Vol. 376

Binary Cepheids with giant companions are crucial for studying the physical properties of Cepheid variables, providing the best means to measure their masses. Systems composed of two Cepheids are even more important but to date, only one such system in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was known. Our current aim is to increase the number of these systems tenfold and provide their basic characteristics. The final goal is to obtain the physical properties of the component Cepheids, including their masses and radii, and to learn about their evolution in the multiple systems, also revealing their origin. We started a spectroscopic monitoring of nine unresolved pairs of Cepheids from the OGLE catalog, to check if they are gravitationally bound. Two of these so-called double Cepheids are located in the LMC, five in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and two in the Milky Way (MW). We report the spectroscopic detection of binarity of all 9 of these double Cepheids with orbital periods from 2 to 18 years. This increases the number of known binary double (BIND) Cepheids from 1 to 10 and triples the number of all confirmed double-lined binary (SB2) Cepheids. For five BIND Cepheids disentangled pulsational light curves of the components show anti-correlated phase shifts due to orbital motion. We show the first empirical evidence that typical period-luminosity relations (PLRs) are rather binary Cepheid PLRs that include the companion's light. The statistics of pulsation period ratios of BIND Cepheids do not agree with those expected for pairs of the same-age Cepheids. These ratios together with the mass ratios far from unity suggest merger-origin of at least one component for about half of the systems. The SMC and MW objects are the first found in SB2 systems composed of giants in their host galaxies. The Milky Way BIND Cepheids are also the closest such systems, being located at about 11 and 26 kpc., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present new period-luminosity and period-luminosity-metallicity relations for Galactic RR Lyrae stars based on a sample of 28 pulsators located at distances up to $1.5$ kpc from the Sun. Near-infrared photometry was obtained at the Cerro Armazones Observatory and parallaxes were taken from the Gaia Early Data Release 3. Relations were determined for the 2MASS $JHK_s$ bands and the $W_{JK}$ Wesenheit index. We compare our results with other calibrations available in the literature and obtain very good agreement with the photometry of RR Lyraes from the Large Magellanic Cloud anchored using the distance to the Cloud, which based on detached eclipsing binaries. We find that the dependence of absolute magnitudes on metallicity of $0.070\pm 0.042$ mag/dex ($J-$ band) to $0.087 \pm 0.031$ mag/dex ($W_{JK}$ index) for the population of fundamental pulsators (RRab) that is in agreement with previously published phenomenological works. We perform a refined determination of distance to the LMC based on our new calibration and photometry from Szewczyk et al. (2008). We study the dependence of the fitted parameters of fiducial relations and the LMC distance on the systematic parallax offset., Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures, 9 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We report the discovery of a surprising binary configuration of the double-mode Cepheid OGLE-LMC-CEP-1347 pulsating in the first (P_1=0.690d) and second overtone (P_2=0.556d) modes. The orbital period (P_orb=59d) of the system is five times shorter than the shortest known to date (310d) for a binary Cepheid. The Cepheid itself is also the shortest-period one ever found in a binary system and the first double-mode Cepheid in a spectroscopically double-lined binary. OGLE-LMC-CEP-1347 is most probably on its first crossing through the instability strip, as inferred from both its short period and fast period increase, consistent with evolutionary models, and from the short orbital period (not expected for binary Cepheids whose components have passed through the red giant phase). Our evolutionary analysis yielded a first-crossing Cepheid with a mass in a range of 2.9-3.4 Msun (lower than any measured Cepheid mass), consistent with observations. The companion is a stable star, at least two times fainter and less massive than the Cepheid (preliminary mass ratio q=0.55), while also redder and thus at the subgiant or more advanced evolutionary stage. To match these characteristics, the Cepheid has to be a product of binary interaction, most likely a merger of two less massive stars, which makes it the second known classical Cepheid of binary origin. Moreover, further evolution of the components may lead to another binary interaction., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

We introduce the scientific motivations for the development of the Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph (CUBES) that is now in construction for the Very Large Telescope. The assembled cases span a broad range of contemporary topics across Solar System, Galactic and extragalactic astronomy, where observations are limited by the performance of current ground-based spectrographs shortwards of 400nm. A brief background to each case is presented and specific technical requirements on the instrument design that flow-down from each case are identified. These were used as inputs to the CUBES design, that will provide a factor of ten gain in efficiency for astronomical spectroscopy over 300-405nm, at resolving powers of R~24,000 and ~7,000. We include performance estimates that demonstrate the ability of CUBES to observe sources that are up to three magnitudes fainter than currently possible at ground-ultraviolet wavelengths, and we place its predicted performance in the context of existing facillities., Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy

We present time-series photometry of 21 nearby Type II Cepheids in the near-infrared J, H and Ks passbands. We use this photometry, together with the Third Gaia Early Data Release parallaxes, to determine for the first time period-luminosity relations (PLRs) for Type II Cepheids from field representatives of these old pulsating stars in the near-infrared regime. We found PLRs to be very narrow for BL Herculis stars, which makes them candidates for precision distance indicators. We then use archival photometry and the most accurate distance obtained from eclipsing binaries to recalibrate PLRs for Type II Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Slopes of our PLRs in the Milky Way and in the LMC differ by slightly more than 2{\sigma} and are in a good agreement with previous studies of the LMC, Galactic Bulge and Galactic Globular Clusters Type II Cepheids samples. We use PLRs of Milky Way Type II Cepheids to measure the distance to the LMC and we obtain a distance modulus of 18.540$\pm$0.026(stat.)$\pm$0.034(syst.)mag in the WJKs Wesenheit index. We also investigate the metallicity effect within our Milky Way sample and we find rather significant value of about -0.2mag/dex in each band meaning that more metal-rich Type II Cepheids are intrinsically brighter than their more metal-poor counterparts, in agreement with the value obtained from Type II Cepheids in Galactic Globular Clusters. The main source of systematic error on our Milky Way PLRs calibration and the LMC distance is the current uncertainty of the Gaia parallax zero point., Comment: Accepted for ApJ

We present 87 candidates for RR Lyrae variable stars in binary systems, based on our new search using the light-travel time effect (LTTE) and observed - calculated ($O-C$) diagrams in the Galactic bulge time-series photometry of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Out of these, 61 are new candidates, while 26 have been announced previously. Furthermore, 12 stars considered as binary candidates in earlier works are discarded from the list, either as they were found to have $O-C$ diagrams incompatible with the LTTE or because their long-term periodicity is definitely caused by the Blazhko effect. This sample of RR Lyrae binary candidates allows us to draw the first firm conclusions about the population of such objects: no candidate has an orbital period below 1000 days, while their occurrence rate steadily increases with increasing period, and peaks between 3000 and 4000 days; however, the decrease in the number of stars toward even longer periods is probably the result of observational biases. The eccentricities show a very significant concentration between 0.25 and 0.3, with a quarter of candidates found in this single bin, overlaid on an otherwise flat distribution between 0.05 and 0.6. Only six stars have higher inferred eccentricities above 0.6. Lastly, the distribution of the mass functions is highly peculiar, exhibiting strong trimodality. We interpret these modes as the presence of three distinct groups of companions, with typical inferred masses of $\sim0.6$, $\sim0.2$, and $\sim0.067\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$, which can be associated with populations of white dwarf and main sequence, red dwarf, and brown dwarf companions, respectively., Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ; 20 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables

Our work presents an independent calibration of the J-region Asymptotic Giant Branch (JAGB) method using Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) photometric data and a custom luminosity function profile to determine JAGB mean magnitudes for nine galaxies. We determine a mean absolute magnitude of carbon stars of $M_{LMC}=-6.212 \pm 0.010$ (stat.) $\pm 0.030$ (syst.) mag. We then use near-infrared photometry of a number of nearby galaxies, originally obtained by our group to determine their distances from Cepheids using the Leavitt law, in order to independently determine their distances with the JAGB method. We compare the JAGB distances obtained in this work with the Cepheid distances resulting from the same photometry and find very good agreement between the results from the two methods. The mean difference is 0.01 mag with an rms scatter of 0.06 mag after taking into account seven out of the eight analyzed galaxies that had their distances determined using Cepheids. The very accurate distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) based on detached eclipsing binaries (Graczyk et al. 2020) is also in very good agreement with the distance obtained from carbon stars., Comment: accepted for ApJ

Masses of classical Cepheids of 3 to 11 M$\odot$ are predicted by theory but those measured, clump between 3.6 and 5 M$\odot$. As a result, their mass-luminosity relation is poorly constrained, impeding our understanding of basic stellar physics and the Leavitt Law. All Cepheid masses come from the analysis of 11 binary systems, including only 5 double-lined and well-suited for accurate dynamical mass determination. We present a project to analyze a new, numerous group of Cepheids in double-lined binary (SB2) systems to provide mass determinations in a wide mass interval and study their evolution. We analyze a sample of 41 candidate binary LMC Cepheids spread along the P-L relation, that are likely accompanied by luminous red giants, and present indirect and direct indicators of their binarity. In a spectroscopic study of a subsample of 18 brightest candidates, for 16 we detected lines of two components in the spectra, already quadrupling the number of Cepheids in SB2 systems. Observations of the whole sample may thus lead to quadrupling all the Cepheid mass estimates available now. For the majority of our candidates, erratic intrinsic period changes dominate over the light travel-time effect due to binarity. However, the latter may explain the periodic phase modulation for 4 Cepheids. Our project paves the way for future accurate dynamical mass determinations of Cepheids in the LMC, Milky Way, and other galaxies, which will potentially increase the number of known Cepheid masses even 10-fold, hugely improving our knowledge about these important stars., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

Deep near-infrared $J$- and $K$-band photometry of three Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies: Fornax, Carina, and Sculptor, is made available for the community. Until now, these data have only been used by the Araucaria Project to determine distances using the tip of the red giant and RR Lyrae stars. Now, we present the entire data collection in a form of a database, consisting of accurate $J$- and $K$-band magnitudes, sky coordinates, ellipticity measurements, and timestamps of observations, complemented by stars' loci in their reference images. Depth of our photometry reaches about 22 mag at 5$\sigma$ level, and is comparable to NIR surveys, like the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) or the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS). Small overlap with VHS and no overlap with UKIDSS makes our database a unique source of quality photometry., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Supplement

We present a new study of late-type eclipsing binary stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) undertaken with the aim of improving the distance determination to this important galaxy. A sample of 10 new detached, double-lined eclipsing binaries indentified from the OGLE variable star catalogues and consisting of F- and G-type giant components has been analysed. The absolute physical parameters of the individual components have been measured with a typical accuracy of better than 3%. All but one of the systems consist of young and intermediate population stars with masses in the range of 1.4 to 3.8 M_Sun. This new sample has been combined with five SMC eclipsing binaries previously published by our team. Distances to the binary systems were calculated using a surface brightness - color calibration. The targets form an elongated structure, highly inclined to the plane of the sky. The distance difference between the nearest and most-distant system amounts to 10 kpc with the line of sight depth reaching 7 kpc. We find tentative evidence of the existence of a spherical stellar sub-structure (core) in the SMC coinciding with its stellar center, containing about 40% of the young and intermediate age stars in the galaxy. The radial extension of this sub-structure is ~1.5 kpc. We derive a distance to the SMC center of D_SMC=62.44 +/- 0.47 (stat.) +/- 0.81 (syst.) kpc corresponding to a distance modulus (m-M)_SMC=18.977 +/- 0.016 +/- 0.028 mag, representing an accuracy of better than 2%., Comment: 18 pages, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal

We present reddening maps of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), based on color measurements of the red clump. Reddening values of our maps were obtained by calculating the difference of the observed and intrinsic color of the red clump in both galaxies. To obtain the intrinsic color of the red clump, we used reddenings obtained from late-type eclipsing binary systems, measurements for blue supergiants and reddenings derived from Str\"{o}mgren photometry of B-type stars. We obtained intrinsic color of the red clump $(V-I)_0$ = 0.838 $\pm$ 0.034 mag in the LMC, and $(V-I)_{0}$ = 0.814 $\pm$ 0.034 mag in the SMC. We prepared our map with 3 arcmin resolution, covering the central part of the LMC and SMC. The mean value of the reddening is E$(B-V)_{\mathrm{LMC}}$=0.127 mag and E$(B-V)_{\mathrm{SMC}}$=0.084 mag for the LMC and SMC, respectively. The systematic uncertainty of the average reddening value assigned to each field of our maps is 0.013 mag for both Magellanic Clouds. Our reddening values are on average higher by 0.061 mag for the LMC and 0.054 mag for the SMC, compared with the maps of Haschke et al. (2011). We also compared our values with different types of reddening tracers. Cepheids, RR Lyrae stars, early-type eclipsing binaries and other reddening estimations based on the red clump color on average show reddenings consistent with our map to within a few hundredths of magnitude., Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We combine the NLTE spectral analysis of the detached O-type eclipsing binary OGLE-LMC-ECL-06782 with the analysis of the radial velocity curve and light curve to measure an independent distance to the LMC. In our spectral analysis we study composite spectra of the system at quadrature and use the information from radial velocity and light curve about stellar gravities, radii and component flux ratio to derive effective temperature, reddening, extinction and intrinsic surface brightness. We obtain a distance modulus to the LMC of m - M = 18.53 +/- 0.04 mag. This value is 0.05 mag larger than the precision distance obtained recently from the analysis of a large sample of detached, long period late spectral type eclipsing binaries but agrees within the margin of the uncertainties. We also determine the surface brightnesses of the system components and find good agreement with the published surface brightness color relationship. A comparison of the observed stellar parameters with the prediction of stellar evolution based on the MESA stellar evolution code shows reasonable agreement, but requires a reduction of the internal angular momentum transport to match the observed rotational velocities., Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ

Using a sample of 81 galactic, detached eclipsing binary stars we investigated the global zero-point shift of their parallaxes with the Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) parallaxes. The stars in the sample lay in a distance range of 0.04-2 kpc from the Sun. The photometric parallaxes {\pi}_Phot of the eclipsing binaries were determined by applying a number of empirical surface brightness - color (SBC) relations calibrated on optical-infrared colors. For each SBC relation we calculated the individual differences d{\pi}_i = ({\pi}_Gaia - {\pi}_Phot)_i and then we calculated unweighted and weighted means. As the sample covers the whole sky we interpret the weighted means as the global shifts of the Gaia DR2 parallaxes with respect to our eclipsing binary sample. Depending on the choice of the SBC relation the shifts vary from -0.094 mas to -0.025 mas. The weighted mean of the zero-point shift from all colors and calibrations used is d{\pi} = -0.054 +/- 0.024 mas. However, the SBC relations based on (B-K) and (V-K) colors, which are the least reddening dependent and have the lowest intrinsic dispersions, give a zero-point shift of d{\pi} = -0.031 +/- 0.011 mas in full agreement with results obtained by Lindegren et al. and Arenou et al. Our result confirms the global shift of Gaia DR2 parallaxes of d{\pi} = -0.029 mas reported by the Gaia team, but we do not confirm the larger zero-point shift reported by a number of follow-up papers., Comment: Like original version but with updated grant numbers

We present new empirical calibrations of the absolute magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) in the optical I and near-infrared J, H, and K bands in terms of the (V-K)_0, (V-H)_0, and (J-K)_0 colors of the red giant branch. Our calibrations are based on the measurements in 19 fields in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which span a wide (V-K)_0 color range of the brightest part of the red giant branch. We use a simple edge detection technique based on the comparison of the star count difference in two adjacent bins with the estimated Poisson noise. Further, we include the reddening and geometrical corrections, as well as the precise and accurate to 2% distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud. The calibration based on a (V-K) colors can be a robust tool to calculate with a great precision the absolute magnitude of the TRGB., Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Astronomical Journal

We present the analysis of a peculiar W~Virginis (pWVir) type-II Cepheid, OGLE-LMC-T2CEP-211 ($P_{puls}=9.393\,d$), in a double-lined binary system ($P_{orb}=242\,d$), which shed light on virtually unknown evolutionary status and structure of pWVir stars. The dynamical mass of the Cepheid (first ever for a type-II Cepheid) is $0.64\pm{}0.02\,M_\odot$ and the radius $R=25.1\pm{}0.3\,R_\odot$. The companion is a massive ($5.67\,M_\odot$) main-sequence star obscured by a disk. Such configuration suggests a mass transfer in the system history. We found that originally the system ($P_{orb}^{init}=12\,d$) was composed of $3.5$ and $2.8\,M_\odot$ stars, with the current Cepheid being more massive. The system age is now $\sim{}$200 My, and the Cepheid is almost completely stripped of hydrogen, with helium mass of $\sim{}92\%$ of the total mass. It finished transferring the mass 2.5 My ago and is evolving towards lower temperatures passing through the instability strip. Comparison with observations indicate a reasonable $2.7\cdot{}10^{-8}\,M_\odot/y$ mass loss from the Cepheid. The companion is most probably a Be main-sequence star with $T=22000\,K$ and $R=2.5\,R_\odot$. Our results yield a good agreement with a pulsation theory model for a hydrogen-deficient pulsator, confirming the described evolutionary scenario. We detected a two-ring disk ($R_{disk}\sim\,116\,R_{\odot}$) and a shell ($R_{shell}\sim\,9\,R_{\odot}$) around the companion, that is probably a combination of the matter from the past mass transfer, the mass being lost by the Cepheid due to wind and pulsations, and a decretion disk around a rapidly rotating secondary. Our study together with observational properties of pWVir stars suggests that their majority are products of a similar binary evolution interaction., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

Based on new observations and improved modeling techniques, we have reanalyzed seven Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Improved physical parameters have been determined for the exotic system OGLE LMC-CEP-1718 composed of two first-overtone Cepheids and a completely new model was obtained for the OGLE LMC-CEP-1812 classical Cepheid. This is now the shortest period Cepheid for which the projection factor is measured. The typical accuracy of our dynamical masses and radii determinations is 1%. The radii of the six classical Cepheids follow period--radius relations in the literature. Our very accurate physical parameter measurements allow us to calculate a purely empirical, tight period--mass--radius relation that agrees well with theoretical relations derived from non-canonical models. This empirical relation is a powerful tool to calculate accurate masses for single Cepheids for which precise radii can be obtained from Baade--Wesselink-type analyses. The mass of the type-II Cepheid $\kappa$ Pav, $0.56 \pm 0.08 M_\odot$, determined using this relation is in a very good agreement with theoretical predictions. We find large differences between the p-factor values derived for the Cepheids in our sample. Evidence is presented that a simple period--p-factor relation shows an intrinsic dispersion, hinting at the relevance of other parameters, such as the masses, radii, and radial velocity variation amplitudes. We also find evidence that the systematic blueshift exhibited by Cepheids, is primarily correlated with their gravity. The companion star of the Cepheid in the OGLE LMC-CEP-4506 system has a very similar temperature and luminosity, and is clearly located inside the Cepheid instability strip, yet it is not pulsating., Comment: 30 pages, 20 figures, 14 tables, published in ApJ

Eclipsing binary systems with pulsating components offer a unique possibility to accurately measure the most important parameters of pulsating stars, to study their evolution, and to test the pulsation theory. I will show what we can learn about the pulsating stars from the analysis of such systems and how we can do it. Special attention will be paid to the mass, radius, p-factor, and distance determination. Although the core of the method is based on the observations of double-lined eclipsing spectroscopic binaries, with the help of the pulsation theory, it is possible to measure absolute parameters for single-lined binaries also., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, The RR Lyrae 2017 Conference proceedings

We present a determination of precise fundamental physical parameters of twenty detached, double- lined, eclipsing binary stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) containing G- or early K-type giant stars. Eleven are new systems, the remaining nine are systems already analyzed by our team for which we present updated parameters. The catalogue results from our long-term survey of eclipsing binaries in the Magellanic Clouds suitable for high-precision determination of distances (the Araucaria project). The V-band brightnesses of the systems range from 15.4 mag to 17.7 mag and their orbital periods range from 49 days to 773 days. Six systems have favorable geometry showing total eclipses. The absolute dimensions of all eclipsing binary components are calculated with a precision of better than 3% and all systems are suitable for a precise distance determination. The measured stellar masses are in the range 1.4 to 4.6 M_sun and comparison with the MESA isochrones gives ages between 0.1 and 2.1 Gyr. The systems show some weak age-metallicity relation. Two systems have components with very different masses: OGLE LMC-ECL-05430 and OGLE LMC-ECL-18365. Neither system can be fitted by single stellar evolution isochrone, explained by a past mass transfer scenario in the case of ECL-18365 and a gravitational capture or a hierarchical binary merger scenario in the case of ECL-05430. The longest period system OGLE LMC SC9 230659 shows a surprising apsidal motion which shifts the apparent position of the eclipses. In one spectrum of OGLE LMC-ECL-12669 we noted a peculiar dimming of one of the components by 65% well outside of the eclipses. We interpret this observation as arising from an extremely rare occultation event as a foreground Galactic object covers only one component of an extragalactic eclipsing binary., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 22 figures, 8 tables

Physical parameters were recently measured for several Cepheids in eclipsing binary systems in the LMC. It is a good opportunity to compare these results with models obtained from pulsation theory. Having well determined physical parameters of the stars, we can calculate the corresponding pulsation periods for a given mode and check for instability. For stars that lack data, unknown or poorly defined parameters can be further constrained. We present the comparison for six Cepheids, showing that, in general, the results are in very good agreement., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, The RR Lyrae 2017 Conference proceedings

We present the results of a study of the type II Cepheid ($P_{puls} = 4.974 d$) in the eclipsing binary system OGLE-LMC-T2CEP-098 ($P_{orb} = 397.2 d$). The Cepheid belongs to the peculiar W Vir group, for which the evolutionary status is virtually unknown. It is the first single-lined system with a pulsating component analyzed using the method developed by Pilecki et al. (2013). We show that the presence of a pulsator makes it possible to derive accurate physical parameters of the stars even if radial velocities can be measured for only one of the components. We have used four different methods to limit and estimate the physical parameters, eventually obtaining precise results by combining pulsation theory with the spectroscopic and photometric solutions. The Cepheid radius, mass and temperature are $25.3 \pm 0.2 R_\odot$, $1.51 \pm 0.09 M_\odot$ and $5300 \pm 100 K$, respectively, while its companion has similar size ($26.3 R_\odot$), but is more massive ($6.8 M_\odot$) and hotter ($9500 K$). Our best estimate for the p-factor of the Cepheid is $1.30 \pm 0.03$. The mass, position on the period-luminosity diagram, and pulsation amplitude indicate that the pulsating component is very similar to the Anomalous Cepheids, although it has a much longer period and is redder in color. The very unusual combination of the components suggest that the system has passed through a mass transfer phase in its evolution. More complicated internal structure would then explain its peculiarity., Comment: 23 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present a precise optical and near-infrared determination of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) brightness in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (respectively LMC and SMC). The commonly used calibrations of the absolute magnitude of the TRGB lead to an overestimation of the distance to the LMC and SMC in the K band, and an underestimation of the distance in the optical I band for both galaxies. Reported discrepancies are at the level of 0.2 mag, with respect to the very accurate distance determinations to both Clouds based on late-type eclipsing binaries. The differential distances between the LMC and SMC obtained in the J and K bands, and for the bolometric brightness are consistent with each other, and with the results obtained from eclipsing binaries and other distance indicators., Comment: accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal

We present a detailed study of the classical Cepheid in the double-lined, highly eccentric eclipsing binary system OGLE-LMC562.05.9009. The Cepheid is a fundamental mode pulsator with a period of 2.988 days. The orbital period of the system is 1550 days. Using spectroscopic data from three 4-8-m telescopes and photometry spanning 22 years, we were able to derive the dynamical masses and radii of both stars with exquisite accuracy. Both stars in the system are very similar in mass, radius and color, but the companion is a stable, non-pulsating star. The Cepheid is slightly more massive and bigger (M_1 = 3.70 +/- 0.03M_sun, R_1 = 28.6 +/- 0.2R_sun) than its companion (M_2 = 3.60 +/- 0.03M_sun, R_2 = 26.6 +/- 0.2R_sun). Within the observational uncertainties both stars have the same effective temperature of 6030 +/- 150K. Evolutionary tracks place both stars inside the classical Cepheid instability strip, but it is likely that future improved temperature estimates will move the stable giant companion just beyond the red edge of the instability strip. Within current observational and theoretical uncertainties, both stars fit on a 205 Myr isochrone arguing for their common age. From our model, we determine a value of the projection factor of p = 1.37 +/- 0.07 for the Cepheid in the OGLE-LMC562.05.9009 system. This is the second Cepheid for which we could measure its p-factor with high precision directly from the analysis of an eclipsing binary system, which represents an important contribution towards a better calibration of Baade-Wesselink methods of distance determination for Cepheids., Comment: Accepted to be published in ApJ

We present a distance determination to the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) based on an analysis of four detached, long period, late type eclipsing binaries discovered by the OGLE Survey. The components of the binaries show negligible intrinsic variability. A consistent set of stellar parameters was derived with low statistical and systematic uncertainty. The absolute dimensions of the stars are calculated with a precision of better than 3%. The surface brightness - infrared color relation was used to derive the distance to each binary. The four systems clump around a distance modulus of (m - M)=18.99 with a dispersion of only 0.05 mag. Combining these results with the distance published by Graczyk et al. for the eclipsing binary OGLE SMC113.3 4007 we obtain a mean distance modulus to the SMC of 18.965 +/- 0.025 (stat.) +/- 0.048 (syst.) mag. This corresponds to a distance of 62.1 +/- 1.9 kpc, where the error includes both uncertainties. Taking into account other recent published determinations of the SMC distance we calculated the distance modulus difference between the SMC and the LMC equal to 0.458 +/- 0.068 mag. Finally we advocate mu_{SMC}=18.95 +/- 0.07 as a new "canonical" value of the distance modulus to this galaxy., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

The preliminary distance to a long period eclipsing binary in the Small Magellanic Cloud SMC108.1.14904 is presented. The binary system contains two non-active G-type bright giants. The orbital period is 185 days and the orbit is circular. Using surface brightness calibration we calculated distance modulus to the system (m-M)= 19.02 +/- 0.04 (stat.) +/- 0.05 (syst.) mag, where systematic error is dominated by uncertainty of surface brightness calibration. This is a second eclipsing binary in the SMC analysed by our team., Comment: IAU Symposium 289 contributed talk

V383Sco was discovered to be an eclipsing binary at the beginning of the XX century. This system has one of the longest orbital periods known (13.5yr) and was initially classified as a zet_Aur-type variable. It was then forgotten for decades. This study provides a detailed look at the V383Sco, using new data obtained around the last eclipse in 2007/8. There was a suspicion that this system could be similar to eclipsing systems with extensive dusty disks like EECep and eps_Aur. This and other, alternative hypotheses are considered. The ASAS-3 VI light curves have been used to examine photometric changes. Low-(LRS) and high-res.(HRS) spectra have been used for spectral classification, to analyse line profiles, as well as to determine the reddening, radial velocities (RVs) and distance. The SED was analysed. Using original numerical code, we performed a simplified model of the eclipse, taking into account the pulsations of one of the components. The LRS shows traces of molecular bands, characteristic of an M-type supergiant. The presence of this star in the system is confirmed by SED, by a strong dependence of the eclipse depth on the photometric bands, and by pulsational changes. The presence of a low excitation nebula around the system has been inferred from [OI] 6300A emission. Analysis of the RVs, reddening, and P-L relation for Mira-type stars imply a distance to the V383Sco of 8.4+-0.6 kpc. The distance to the nearby V381Sco is 6.4+-0.8 kpc. The very different and oppositely directed RVs of these systems (89.8 vs -178.8 km/s) seem to be in agreement with a bulge/bar kinematic model of the Galactic centre and inconsistent with purely circular motion. We have found evidence for the presence of a pulsating M-type supergiant in the V383Sco which periodically obscures the much more luminous F0I-type star, causing the deep (possibly total) eclipses which vary in duration and shape., Comment: Accepted for publication in Section 7. Stellar structure and evolution of Astronomy and Astrophysics; The official date of acceptance is 04/12/2012; 19 pages, 18 figures, 12 tables

We have analyzed the long period, double-lined eclipsing binary system OGLE SMC113.3 4007 (SC10 137844) in the SMC. The binary lies in the north-eastern part of the galaxy and consists of two evolved, well detached, non-active G8 giants. The orbit is eccentric with e = 0.311 and the orbital period is 371.6 days. Using extensive high-resolution spectroscopic and multi-color photometric data we have determined a true distance modulus of the system of m-M=18.83 +/- 0.02 (statistical) +/- 0.05 (systematic) mag using a surface brightness - color relation for giant stars. This method is very insensitive to metallicity and reddening corrections and depends only very little on stellar atmosphere model assumptions. Additionally, we derived very accurate, at the level of 1%-2%, physical parameters of both giant stars, particularly their masses and radii, making our results important for comparison with stellar evolution models. Our analysis underlines the high potential of late-type, double-lined detached binary systems for accurate distance determinations to nearby galaxies., Comment: accepted in ApJ

We searched for long period variation in V-band, Ic-band and RXTE X-ray light curves of the High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) LS 1698 / RX J1037.5-5647, HD 110432 / 1H 1249-637 and HD 161103 / RX J1744.7-2713 in an attempt to discover orbitally induced variation. Data were obtained primarily from the ASAS database and were supplemented by shorter term observations made with the 24- and 40-inch ANU telescopes and one of the robotic PROMPT telescopes. Fourier periodograms suggested the existence of long period variation in the V-band light curves of all three HMXBs, however folding the data at those periods did not reveal convincing periodic variation. At this point we cannot rule out the existence of long term V-band variation for these three sources and hints of longer term variation may be seen in the higher precision PROMPT data. Long term V-band observations, on the order of several years, taken at a frequency of at least once per week and with a precision of 0.01 mag, therefore still have a chance of revealing long term variation in these three HMXBs., Comment: Accepted, RAA, May, 2011

We report the discovery by B. G. Harris and S. Dvorak on JD 2455224.9385 (2010 Jan 28.4385 UT) of the predicted eruption of the recurrent nova U Scorpii (U Sco). We also report on 815 magnitudes (and 16 useful limits) on the pre-eruption light curve in the UBVRI and Sloan r' and i' bands from 2000.4 up to 9 hours before the peak of the January 2010 eruption. We found no significant long-term variations, though we did find frequent fast variations (flickering) with amplitudes up to 0.4 mag. We show that U Sco did not have any rises or dips with amplitude greater than 0.2 mag on timescales from one day to one year before the eruption. We find that the peak of this eruption occurred at JD 2455224.69+-0.07 and the start of the rise was at JD 2455224.32+-0.12. From our analysis of the average B-band flux between eruptions, we find that the total mass accreted between eruptions is consistent with being a constant, in agreement with a strong prediction of nova trigger theory. The date of the next eruption can be anticipated with an accuracy of +-5 months by following the average B-band magnitudes for the next ~10 years, although at this time we can only predict that the next eruption will be in the year 2020+-2., Comment: Astronomical Journal submitted, 36 pages, 3 figures, full tables

A spectroscopic support survey of 103 objects observed by the MOST satellite is presented; 96 are variable stars with 83 of them being new MOST variable-star detections or stars with variability types verified and/or modified on the basis of the MOST data. Analysis of 241 medium-resolution spectra using the broadening-functions formalism yielded radial velocities, projected rotational velocities (for 31 targets for which it was possible) and spectral type estimates. Seven new spectroscopic binaries were discovered; orbital solutions are given for two of them (HD73709, and GSC 0814-0323). The visual binary HD46180 was found to be composed of two close binary stars (eclipsing and non-eclipsing one) very probably forming a physical quadruple system., Comment: 2 figures, accepted to MNRAS on October 17, 2008

Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital radial velocity variations are presented for ten close binary systems: TZ Boo, VW Boo, EL Boo, VZ CVn, GK Cep, RW Com, V2610 Oph, V1387 Ori, AU Ser, and FT UMa. Our spectroscopy revealed two quadruple systems, TZ Boo and V2610 Oph, while three stars showing small photometric amplitudes, EL Boo, V1387 Ori, and FT UMa, were found to be triple systems. GK Cep is close binary with a faint third component. While most of the studied eclipsing systems are contact binaries, VZ CVn and GK Cep are detached or semi-detached double-lined binaries, and EL Boo, V1387 Ori and FT UMa are close binaries of uncertain binary type. The large fraction of triple and quadruple systems found in this sample supports the hypothesis of formation of close binaries in multiple stellar systems; it also demonstrates that low photometric amplitude binaries are a fertile ground for further discoveries of multiple systems., Comment: 5 figures, submitted to AJ

We present a preliminary statistical analysis of a period change of eclipsing binaries from the ASAS Catalog of Variable Stars. For each contact and semidetached system brighter than 13.3$mag$ (in V) with a period shorter than 0.4 days and at least 300 observation points we have found an angular velocity $\omega$ and its time derivative $\frac{d\omega}{dt}$. According to our accuracy there is no evidence that average $\frac{d\omega}{dt}$ differs from 0. Light curves for selected stars are presented., Comment: Published in Proceedings of the 13th Young Scientists' Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics, held in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 25-29, 2006, Eds.: Golovin, A.; Ivashchenko, G.; Simon, A