Studies of RR Lyrae Variables in Binary Systems. I. Evidence of a Trimodal Companion Mass Distribution

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 because 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 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 similar to 0.6, similar to 0.2, and similar to 0.067 M (circle dot), which can be associated with populations of white dwarf and main sequence, red dwarf, and brown dwarf companions, respectively.

Automated summary

This study identifies 87 candidates for RR Lyrae variable stars in binary systems, with orbital periods predominantly above 1000 days and peak occurrence rate between 3000 and 4000 days. The eccentricities of these candidates are concentrated between 0.25 and 0.3, with a trimodal distribution of mass functions suggesting the presence of three distinct groups of companions.