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The Evolutionary Status of the Secondaries of Cataclysmic Binaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

H. Ritter*
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Physik und Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 1, D-8046 Garching, Fed. Rep. Germany

Abstract

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It is shown that the secondary components of cataclysmic binaries with orbital periods of less than ~10 hours are indistinguishable from ordinary low-mass main-sequence stars and that, therefore, they are essentially unevolved. On the other hand, it is shown that, depending on the mass ratio of the progenitor system, the secondary of a cataclysmic binary could be significantly evolved. The fact that nevertheless most of the observed secondaries are essentially unevolved can be accounted for by assuming that the probability distribution for the initial mass ratio is not strongly peaked towards unity mass ratio.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1983

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