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RV Tauri variable


RV Tauri variables are luminous variable stars that have distinctive light variations with alternating deep and shallow minima.

German astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander monitored the distinctive variations in brightness of R Scuti from 1840 to 1850. R Sagittae was noted to be variable in 1859, but it was not until the discovery of RV Tauri by Russian astronomer Lidiya Tseraskaya in 1905 that the class of variable was recognised as distinct.

Three spectroscopic groups were identified:

RV Tauri stars are further classified into two photometric sub-types based on their light curves:

The photometric sub-types should not be confused with the spectroscopic sub-types which use capital letters, often appended to RV: RVA; RVB; and RVC. The General Catalogue of Variable Stars uses acronyms consisting of capital letters to identify variability types, and so uses RVA and RVB to refer to the two photometric sub-types.

RV Tau variables exhibit changes in luminosity which are tied to radial pulsations of their surfaces. Their changes in brightness are also correlated with changes in their spectral type. While at their brightest, the stars have spectral types F or G. At their dimmest, their spectral types change to K or M. The difference between maximum and minimum brightness can be as much as four magnitudes.The period of brightness fluctuations from one deep minimum to the next is typically around 30 to 150 days, and exhibits alternating primary and secondary minima, which can change relative to each other. For comparison with other type II Cepheids such as W Virginis variables, this formal period is twice the fundamental pulsation period. Therefore although the approximate division between W Vir variables and RV Tau variables is at a fundamental pulsation period of 20 days, RV Tau variables are typically described with periods of 40-150 days.


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