Nature of the Distant Component in the Triple System DV Cam

Abstract

DV Cam (HD 34233) is a relatively bright spectroscopic binary system exhibiting complex variability. This study presents an extensive analysis of its orbital dynamics and pulsational behavior using multi-source photometric data, including the Hipparcos, ground-based, and TESS satellite observations. The O–C residuals analysis reveals a sinusoidal variation indicative of the light-time effect (LITE), leading to the identification of a third component with an orbital period of 35.8 years. TESS data further unveil cyclic out-of-eclipse variations, which are characteristic of pulsational behavior. Using the Period04 software, two main pulsation frequencies, f1 = 0.91789 cy/day and f2 = 0.70165 cy/day, were identified, which are consistent with the behavior of Slowly Pulsating B (SPB) stars. This suggests a potential connection between the pulsational modes of DV Cam and SPB stars. The study also applies a light-curve fitting technique to isolate out-of-eclipse variations, enhancing the characterization of the system's pulsational properties. The results provide valuable insights into the dynamics of this triple star system and its connection to SPB-like pulsations. Future work will focus on further refining the orbital and pulsational models with additional data and investigating the system's long-term behavior.