Photometric study for the short period contact binary V724 And

Abstract

We present the new light curve synthesis and orbital period change analysis of V724 And. We found that it is a W-subtype contact binary system with a mass ratio of q = 2.31 and a fill-out factor of f = 10.8%. The weak O’Connell effect can be explained by a cool star-spot on the more massive component star. By analyzing orbital period changes, it is found that the target displays a secular period decrease superimposed on a cyclic oscillation. The orbital period decreases at a rate of dp/dt = −4.13 × 10⁻⁸ d yr⁻¹, which can be explained by the mass transfer from the more massive one to the less massive component. The new discovery suggests that the semi-amplitude and period of the cyclic variation are A = 0.0013 d and P = 10.54 yr, respectively, which implies that V724 And is a possibly triple system. The minimum mass of the tertiary companion is estimated as M${}_{3min}$ = 0.054 M${}_{\odot }$, which plays an important role during the formation and evolution of the central binary system.