The active W UMa type binary star V781 Tau revisited

In this paper, new determined BVRcIc\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$BVR_{c}I_{c}$\end{document} light curves and radial velocities of V781 Tau are presented. By analyzing the light curves and radial velocities simultaneously, we found that V781 Tau is a W-subtype medium contact binary star with a mass ratio of q=2.207±0.005\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$q=2.207\pm0.005$\end{document} and a contact degree of f=21.6(±1.0)%\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$f=21.6(\pm1.0)~\%$\end{document}. The difference between the two light maxima was explained by a dark spot on the less massive primary component. The change of the orbital period of V781 Tau was also investigated. A secular decrease at a rate of −6.01(±2.28)×10−8d/yr\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$-6.01(\pm2.28)\times 10^{-8}~\mbox{d}/\mbox{yr}$\end{document} and a cyclic modulation with a period of 44.8±5.7yr\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$44.8 \pm 5.7~\mbox{yr}$\end{document} and an amplitude of 0.0064±0.0011day\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$0.0064\pm0.0011~\mbox{day}$\end{document} were discovered. The continuous period decrease may be caused by angular momentum loss due to a magnetic stellar wind. The Applegate mechanism failed to explain the cyclic modulation. It is highly possible that the cyclic oscillation is the result of the light travel time effect by a third companion.