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Title: Kepler eclipsing binary stars. IV. Precise eclipse times for close binaries and identification of candidate three-body systems

Abstract

We present a catalog of precise eclipse times and analysis of third-body signals among 1279 close binaries in the latest Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog. For these short-period binaries, Kepler's 30 minute exposure time causes significant smearing of light curves. In addition, common astrophysical phenomena such as chromospheric activity, as well as imperfections in the light curve detrending process, can create systematic artifacts that may produce fictitious signals in the eclipse timings. We present a method to measure precise eclipse times in the presence of distorted light curves, such as in contact and near-contact binaries which exhibit continuously changing light levels in and out of eclipse. We identify 236 systems for which we find a timing variation signal compatible with the presence of a third body. These are modeled for the light travel time effect and the basic properties of the third body are derived. This study complements J. A. Orosz et al. (in preparation), which focuses on eclipse timing variations of longer period binaries with flat out-of-eclipse regions. Together, these two papers provide comprehensive eclipse timings for all binaries in the Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog, as an ongoing resource freely accessible online to the community.

Authors:
;  [1];  [2]; ;  [3];  [4]
  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B 1807, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States)
  2. Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085 (United States)
  3. Department of Astronomy, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182 (United States)
  4. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22340008
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 147; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1538-3881
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ASTROPHYSICS; BINARY STARS; CATALOGS; DATA ANALYSIS; DIAGRAMS; ECLIPSE; THREE-BODY PROBLEM; VARIATIONS; VISIBLE RADIATION

Citation Formats

Conroy, Kyle E., Stassun, Keivan G., Prša, Andrej, Orosz, Jerome A., Welsh, William F., and Fabrycky, Daniel C. Kepler eclipsing binary stars. IV. Precise eclipse times for close binaries and identification of candidate three-body systems. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/147/2/45.
Conroy, Kyle E., Stassun, Keivan G., Prša, Andrej, Orosz, Jerome A., Welsh, William F., & Fabrycky, Daniel C. Kepler eclipsing binary stars. IV. Precise eclipse times for close binaries and identification of candidate three-body systems. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/147/2/45
Conroy, Kyle E., Stassun, Keivan G., Prša, Andrej, Orosz, Jerome A., Welsh, William F., and Fabrycky, Daniel C. 2014. "Kepler eclipsing binary stars. IV. Precise eclipse times for close binaries and identification of candidate three-body systems". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/147/2/45.
@article{osti_22340008,
title = {Kepler eclipsing binary stars. IV. Precise eclipse times for close binaries and identification of candidate three-body systems},
author = {Conroy, Kyle E. and Stassun, Keivan G. and Prša, Andrej and Orosz, Jerome A. and Welsh, William F. and Fabrycky, Daniel C.},
abstractNote = {We present a catalog of precise eclipse times and analysis of third-body signals among 1279 close binaries in the latest Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog. For these short-period binaries, Kepler's 30 minute exposure time causes significant smearing of light curves. In addition, common astrophysical phenomena such as chromospheric activity, as well as imperfections in the light curve detrending process, can create systematic artifacts that may produce fictitious signals in the eclipse timings. We present a method to measure precise eclipse times in the presence of distorted light curves, such as in contact and near-contact binaries which exhibit continuously changing light levels in and out of eclipse. We identify 236 systems for which we find a timing variation signal compatible with the presence of a third body. These are modeled for the light travel time effect and the basic properties of the third body are derived. This study complements J. A. Orosz et al. (in preparation), which focuses on eclipse timing variations of longer period binaries with flat out-of-eclipse regions. Together, these two papers provide comprehensive eclipse timings for all binaries in the Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog, as an ongoing resource freely accessible online to the community.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-6256/147/2/45},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22340008}, journal = {Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)},
issn = {1538-3881},
number = 2,
volume = 147,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}