V752 Cen is a triple-lined spectroscopic contact binary .
Its multi-color light curves were obtained in the years 1971 and 2018 , independently .
Photometric analyses reveal that the two sets of light curves produce almost consistent results .
It contains a W-subtype totally eclipsing binary , and its mass ratio and fill-out factor are q = 3.35 ( 1 ) and f = 29 ( 2 ) \% .
The absolute elements of its two component stars were determined to be M _ { 1 } = 0.39 ( 2 ) M _ { \odot } , M _ { 2 } = 1.31 ( 7 ) M _ { \odot } , R _ { 1 } = 0.77 ( 1 ) R _ { \odot } , R _ { 2 } = 1.30 ( 2 ) R _ { \odot } , L _ { 1 } = 0.75 ( 3 ) L _ { \odot } and L _ { 2 } = 2.00 ( 7 ) L _ { \odot } .
The period of V752 Cen is 0.37023198 day .
The 0.37-d period remained constant from its first measurement in 1971 until the year 2000 .
However , it changed suddenly around the year 2000 and has been increasing continuously at a rate of dP / dt = +5.05 \times { 10 ^ { -7 } } day \cdot year ^ { -1 } since then , which can be explained by mass transfer from the less massive component star to the more massive one with a rate of \frac { dM _ { 2 } } { dt } = 2.52 \times { 10 ^ { -7 } } M _ { \odot } / year .
The period variation of V752 Cen over the 48 years in which the period has been monitored is really unusual , and is potentially related to effects from the possible presence of a nearby third star or of a pair of stars in a second binary .