Photometric analysis of contact binaries

Different possible configurations for wide range of the mass ratio were explored in each case making use of the Wilson-Devinney code. The photometric parameters of the systems were determined from the synthetic light-curve solutions that best fit the observations.

AW Vir has two components of very similar temperatures and therefore the subtype (A or W) remains undetermined. HY Pav and BP Vel are best modeled by W-type configurations and the asymmetries in the light curves are reproduced by introducing cool spots on the more massive secondary components. Although BP Vel lies in the region of the open cluster Cr 173, its distance modulus, in principle, rules it out as a cluster member.