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Long-term photometric and spectroscopic observations of the near-contact binary KR Cygni

We present the multi-color, five-year light curves and the first radial velocities of the near-contact binary system KR Cyg. We derived the masses of the components as 2.88$\pm$0.20 M$_{\odot}$ and 1.26$\pm$0.07 M$_{\odot}$ and the radii as 2.59$\pm$0.06 R$_{\odot}$ and 1.80$\pm$0.04 R$_{\odot}$. Analyses of the UBVR light curves and the radial velocities indicate that none of the components exactly fill their corresponding Roche lobes. We have calculated the distance to the system of KR Cyg as {411$\pm$12} pc using the observed apparent UBV magnitudes and the bolometric corrections for the component stars. We also searched for the empirical determination of albedo and effective temperature of the cooler, less massive star of KR Cyg, and of two similar near contact binaries AK CMi, and DO Cas. The residuals between the observed and computed fluxes are attributed to the effect of mutual illumination which heats the surface layers of the illuminated star and does vary not only its bolometric albedo but also its limb-darkening coefficient and gravity-brightening exponent. The analysis of the light curves shows that the effective albedos are generally smaller than that expected from an envelope of convective star, being mostly departed from the theoretical value at the B passband. As the reflected light diminishes the effective temperature and, therefore, the luminosity of the irradiated star increase. The observed bluer U-B colors during primary minimum are attributed to the effects of mutual irradiation and multiple scattering processes which may alter several characteristics of these systems.