An orbital stability study of the proposed companions of SW Lyncis
Article
Article Title | An orbital stability study of the proposed companions of SW Lyncis |
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Article Category | Article |
Authors | Hinse, T. C. (Author), Horner, Jonathan (Author) and Wittenmyer, Robert A. (Author) |
Journal Title | Journal of Astronomy and Space Science |
Journal Citation | 31 (3), pp. 187-197 |
Number of Pages | 11 |
Year | 2014 |
Place of Publication | Seoul, Korea |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.5140/JASS.2014.31.3.187 |
Abstract | We have investigated the dynamical stability of the proposed companions orbiting the Algol type short-period eclipsing binary SW Lyncis (Kim et al. 2010). The two candidate companions are of stellar to substellar nature, and were inferred from timing measurements of the system's primary and secondary eclipses. We applied well-tested numerical techniques to accurately integrate the orbits of the two companions and to test for chaotic dynamical behavior. We carried out the stability analysis within a systematic parameter survey varying both the geometries and orientation of the orbits of the companions, as well as their masses. In all our numerical integrations we found that the proposed SW Lyn multi-body system is highly unstable on time-scales on the order of 1000 years. Our results cast doubt on the interpretation that the timing variations are caused by two companions. This work demonstrates that a straightforward dynamical analysis can help to test whether a best-fit companion-based model is a physically viable explanation for measured eclipse timing variations. We conclude that dynamical considerations reveal that the proposed SW Lyncis multi-body system most likely does not exist or the companions have significantly different orbital properties from those conjectured in Kim et al. (2010). |
Keywords | celestial mechanics; N-body; binaries; stars; SW Lyncis |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
519999. Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified | |
490105. Dynamical systems in applications | |
Byline Affiliations | Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Korea |
Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre | |
University of New South Wales | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q2wx7/an-orbital-stability-study-of-the-proposed-companions-of-sw-lyncis
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License: CC BY-NC | ||
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