Photometric study of the over-contact binary star GSC 3822-1056 ^*,**

¹ Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 67, 1525 Budapest, Hungary
² Baja Astronomical Observatory of Bács-Kiskun County, PO Box 766, 6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Hungary e-mail: borko@electra.bajaobs.hu;barna@electra.bajaobs.hu
³ Guest observer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Spain

Corresponding author: Sz. Csizmadia, csizmadia@konkoly.hu

Received: 12 September 2002
Accepted: 7 March 2003

Abstract

Here we present the first Johnson-Cousins VR_C light curves of the over-contact binary star GSC 3822-1056. A period study and the light curve solution are also given. An extremely high rate of period increase () was found. The origin of this period change can be: (i) partly covered light-time effect due to the orbital motion around the mass center of a possible third body; (ii) mass transfer between the components.
The light curve was solved using the 1998 Wilson-Devinney Code. We examined the light curve with and without third light. Both solutions yielded a contact configuration with high temperature difference between the components. Despite the high degree of the contact (), the temperature difference between the components K.
The high mass ratio of the system and its other unusual properties suggest that GSC 3822-1056 may be a recently formed contact binary.