Period Analysis of Seven Field ab-type RR Lyrae Stars Based on O − C Diagrams: Cyclic Variations and Long-term Period Changes

Using the times of light maximum collected from the GEOS RR Lyrae database and determined from sky surveys, we utilize the O − C method to study the period variations of seven field ab-type RR Lyrae stars. The time coverage of data for most stars is more than 100 years, allowing us to investigate period changes over a large time span. We find that the O − C diagrams for most stars can be described by a combination of cyclic variations and long-term period changes. Assuming the former were caused by the light-travel-time effect, the pulsation and orbital parameters are obtained by the nonlinear fitting. We find that the orbital periods in our sample range from 33 to 78 years, and the eccentricities are relatively higher than the results for other candidates (e > 0.6). The minimal masses of the potential companions of XX And, BK Dra, and RY Psc are less than one solar mass, and those of SV Eri, AR Her, and RU Scl are 3.3, 2.1, and 3.4 M , respectively. Moreover, we suggest that the companion of AR Her may be a blue straggler that experienced mass transfer or a merger of two stars. The O − C diagram for ST Vir also shows distinct long-term period decrease, and in the O − C residuals, additional quasi-periodic variations that can be described by damped oscillation are found. Combining the data from the literature and our analysis, we plot the log P-AO−C diagram. The distribution of our binary candidates suggests that their period variations are not caused by the Blazhko effect.