Irradiation Pressure Effects in Close Binary Systems

We present a method for the calculation of the effects of external irradiation on the geometrical shape of the secondary in a close binary containing a compact star, the source of the radiation, and a normal companion star, where we include the possibility of shadowing by an accretion disc. The model is based on a simple modification of the standard Roche binary potential in which the radiation-pressure force is parameterised using the ratio of the radiation to the gravitational force. We have constructed numerical solutions of approximate 3-dimensional irradiated equipotential surfaces to demonstrate the main geometrical effects of external radiation pressure. For systems in which the inner Lagrangian point is irradiated directly and for sufficiently high irradiation fluxes, the critical condition for which the secondary fills its tidal lobe changes from an inner to an outer critical configuration, where the critical equipotential surface connects to one of the outer rather than the inner Lagrangian point. Such a situation may apply to evaporating binary pulsar systems (e.g. PSR 1957+20), stars orbiting supermassive black holes in AGN and some high-mass X-ray binaries (including Centaurus X-3). For systems containing an accretion disc, which shadows the inner Lagrangian point from the external irradiation, the presence of significant radiation pressure causes a non-axisymmetric deformation of the stellar surface. This has particularly important consequences for low-mass X-ray binaries, for which the X-ray luminosities can be close to the Eddington limit. We have calculated modified Roche potentials to determine the main effects on the optical lightcurves and radial velocity curves for typical binary parameters. Compared to previous studies, the inclusion of irradiation-pressure effects results in changes in the derived system parameters (e.g. component masses, radial velocities) that may be as high as ∼ 30 per cent. We conclude that the proper inclusion of irradiation pressure effects is essential for a reliable analysis of close binary systems in which the secondaries are strongly being irradiated.