scholarly journals News From The Erebos Project

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Schaffenroth ◽  
Brad Barlow ◽  
Stephan Geier ◽  
Maja Vučković ◽  
Dave Kilkenny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Binary Systems ◽  
Brown Dwarfs ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Red Giants ◽  
Large Program ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Orbital Periods ◽  
Red Giant

AbstractPlanets and brown dwarfs in close orbits will interact with their host stars, as soon as the stars evolve to become red giants. However, the outcome of those interactions is still unclear. Recently, several brown dwarfs have been discovered orbiting hot subdwarf stars at very short orbital periods of 0.065 - 0.096 d. More than 8% of the close hot subdwarf binaries might have sub-stellar companions. This shows that such companions can significantly affect late stellar evolution and that sdB binaries are ideal objects to study this influence. Thirty-eight new eclipsing sdB binary systems with cool low-mass companions and periods from 0.05 to 0.5 d were discovered based on their light curves by the OGLE project. In the recently published catalog of eclipsing binaries in the Galactic bulge, we discovered 75 more systems. We want to use this unique and homogeneously selected sample to derive the mass distribution of the companions, constrain the fraction of sub-stellar companions and determine the minimum mass needed to strip off the red-giant envelope. We are especially interested in testing models that predict hot Jupiter planets as possible companions. Therefore, we started the EREBOS (Eclipsing Reflection Effect Binaries from the OGLE Survey) project, which aims at analyzing those new HW Vir systems based on a spectroscopic and photometric follow up. For this we were granted an ESO Large Program for ESO-VLT/FORS2. Here we give an update on the the current status of the project and present some preliminary results.

scholarly journals Systematic search for stellar pulsators in the eclipsing binaries observed by Kepler

2019 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. A106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Gaulme ◽  
Joyce A. Guzik
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Percent Level ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Red Giants ◽  
Low Mass Stars ◽  
Orbital Periods ◽  
Red Giant ◽  
Stellar Properties

Eclipsing binaries (EBs) are unique targets for measuring precise stellar properties and can be used to constrain stellar evolution models. In particular, it is possible to measure masses and radii of both components of a double-lined spectroscopic EB at the percent level. Since the advent of high-precision photometric space missions (MOST, CoRoT, Kepler, BRITE, TESS), the use of stellar pulsation properties to infer stellar interiors and dynamics constitutes a revolution for studies of low-mass stars. The Kepler mission has led to the discovery of thousands of classical pulsators such as δ Scuti and solar-like oscillators (main sequence and evolved), but also almost 3000 EBs with orbital periods shorter than 1100 days. We report the first systematic search for stellar pulsators in the entire Kepler EB catalog. The focus is mainly aimed at discovering δ Scuti, γ Doradus, red giant, and tidally excited pulsators. We developed a data inspection tool (DIT) that automatically produces a series of plots from the Kepler light curves that allows us to visually identify whether stellar oscillations are present in a given time series. We applied the DIT to the whole Kepler EB database and identified 303 systems whose light curves display oscillations, including 163 new discoveries. A total of 149 stars are flagged as δ Scuti (100 from this paper), 115 as γ Doradus (69 new), 85 as red giants (27 new), and 59 as tidally excited oscillators (29 new). There is some overlap among these groups, as some display several types of oscillations. Despite the likelihood that many of these systems are false positives, for example, when an EB light curve is blended with a pulsator, this catalog gathers a vast sample of systems that are valuable for a better understanding of stellar evolution.

scholarly journals Non-linear seismic scaling relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 616 ◽  
pp. A104 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Kallinger ◽  
P. G. Beck ◽  
D. Stello ◽  
R. A. Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Binary Systems ◽  
Open Clusters ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Probabilistic Methods ◽  
Frequency Separation ◽  
Scaling Relations ◽  
Distance Modulus ◽  
Red Giants ◽  
Eclipsing Binary ◽  
Non Linear

Context. In recent years the global seismic scaling relations for the frequency of maximum power, νmax ∝ g / √Teff, and for the large frequency separation, Δν ∝ √ρ¯, have drawn attention in various fields of astrophysics. This is because these relations can be used to estimate parameters, such as the mass and radius of stars that show solar-like oscillations. With the exquisite photometry of Kepler, the uncertainties in the seismic observables are small enough to estimate masses and radii with a precision of only a few per cent. Even though this seems to work quite well for main-sequence stars, there is empirical evidence, mainly from studies of eclipsing binary systems, that the seismic scaling relations systematically overestimate the mass and radius of red giants by about 15% and 5%, respectively. Various model-based corrections of the Δν-scaling reduce the problem but do not solve it. Aims. Our goal is to define revised seismic scaling relations that account for the known systematic mass and radius discrepancies in a completely model-independent way. Methods. We use probabilistic methods to analyse the seismic data and to derive non-linear scaling relations based on a sample of six red giant branch (RGB) stars that are members of eclipsing binary systems and about 60 red giants on the RGB as well as in the core-helium burning red clump (RC) in the two open clusters NGC 6791 and NGC 6819. Results. We re-examine the global oscillation parameters of the giants in the binary systems in order to determine their seismic fundamental parameters and we find them to agree with the dynamic parameters from the literature if we adopt non-linear scalings. We note that a curvature and glitch corrected Δνcor should be preferred over a local or average value of Δν. We then compare the observed seismic parameters of the cluster giants to those scaled from independent measurements and find the same non-linear behaviour as for the eclipsing binaries. Our final proposed scaling relations are based on both samples and cover a broad range of evolutionary stages from RGB to RC stars: g / √Teff = (νmax / νmax,⊙)1.0075±0.0021 and √ρ¯ = (Δνcor / Δνcor,⊙)[η − (0.0085 ± 0.0025) log2(Δνcor / Δνcor,⊙)]−1, where g, Teff, and ρ¯ are in solar units, νmax,⊙ = 3140 ± 5 μHz and Δνcor,⊙ = 135.08 ± 0.02 μHz, and η is equal to one in the case of RGB stars and 1.04 ± 0.01 for RC stars. Conclusions. A direct consequence of these new scaling relations is that the average mass of stars on the ascending giant branch reduces to 1.10 ± 0.03 M⊙ in NGC 6791 and 1.45 ± 0.06 M⊙ in NGC 6819, allowing us to revise the clusters’ distance modulus to 13.11 ± 0.03 and 11.91 ± 0.03 mag, respectively. We also find strong evidence that both clusters are significantly older than concluded from previous seismic investigations.

Follow-up Photometry in Another Band Helps to Reduce Kepler’s False-positive Rates

2021 ◽  
Vol 162 (6) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Mu-Tian Wang ◽  
Hui-Gen Liu ◽  
Jiapeng Zhu ◽  
Ji-Lin Zhou
Keyword(s):  
False Positive ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
False Positives ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Identification Rate ◽  
Transiting Planets ◽  
Secondary Star ◽  
Band Depth ◽  
Depth Feature

Abstract The Kepler mission’s single-band photometry suffers from astrophysical false positives, most commonly of background eclipsing binaries (BEBs) and companion transiting planets (CTPs). Multicolor photometry can reveal the color-dependent depth feature of false positives and thus exclude them. In this work, we aim to estimate the fraction of false positives that cannot be classified by Kepler alone but can be identified from their color-dependent depth feature if a reference band (z, K s , and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)) is adopted in follow-up observation. We construct physics-based blend models to simulate multiband signals of false positives. Nearly 65%–95% of the BEBs and more than 80% of the CTPs that host a Jupiter-sized planet will show detectable depth variations if the reference band can achieve a Kepler-like precision. The K s band is most effective in eliminating BEBs exhibiting features of any depth, while the z and TESS bands are better for identifying giant candidates, and their identification rates are more sensitive to photometric precision. Given the radius distribution of planets transiting the secondary star in binary systems, we derive a formalism to calculate the overall identification rate for CTPs. By comparing the likelihood distribution of the double-band depth ratio for BEB and planet models, we calculate the false-positive probability (FPP) for typical Kepler candidates. Additionally, we show that the FPP calculation helps distinguish the planet candidate’s host star in an unresolved binary system. The framework of the analysis in this paper can be easily adapted to predict the multicolor photometric yield for other transit surveys, especially TESS.

scholarly journals Close-In Substellar Companions and the Formation of sdB-Type Close Binary Stars

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Y. Zhu ◽  
S. B. Qian ◽  
E.-G. Zhao ◽  
E. Fernández Lajús ◽  
Z.-T. Han
Keyword(s):  
Binary Stars ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Close Binary ◽  
Close Binaries ◽  
Close Binary Stars ◽  
Cataclysmic Binaries ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Substellar Companions ◽  
Orbital Periods

The sdB-type close binaries are believed to have experienced a common-envelope phase and may evolve into cataclysmic binaries (CVs). About 10% of all known sdB binaries are eclipsing binaries consisting of very hot subdwarf primaries and low-mass companions with short orbital periods. The eclipse profiles of these systems are very narrow and deep, which benefits the determination of high precise eclipsing times and makes the detection of small and close-in tertiary bodies possible. Since 2006 we have monitored some sdB-type eclipsing binaries to search for the close-in substellar companions by analyzing the light travel time effect. Here some progresses of the program are reviewed and the formation of sdB-type binary is discussed.

scholarly journals The MUCHFUSS photometric campaign

2018 ◽  
Vol 614 ◽  
pp. A77 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Schaffenroth ◽  
S. Geier ◽  
U. Heber ◽  
R. Gerber ◽  
D. Schneider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brown Dwarfs ◽  
Close Binary ◽  
Red Giants ◽  
Reflection Effect ◽  
Common Envelope ◽  
Sdb Stars ◽  
Solar Type ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Substellar Companions ◽  
Almost All

Hot subdwarfs (sdO/Bs) are the helium-burning cores of red giants, which have lost almost all of their hydrogen envelope. This mass loss is often triggered by common envelope interactions with close stellar or even substellar companions. Cool companions like late-type stars or brown dwarfs are detectable via characteristic light-curve variations like reflection effects and often also eclipses. To search for such objects, we obtained multi-band light curves of 26 close sdO/B binary candidates from the MUCHFUSS project with the BUSCA instrument. We discovered a new eclipsing reflection effect system (P = 0.168938 d) with a low-mass M dwarf companion (0.116 M⊙). Three more reflection effect binaries found in the course of the campaign have already been published; two of them are eclipsing systems, and in one system only showing the reflection effect but no eclipses, the sdB primary is found to be pulsating. Amongst the targets without reflection effect a new long-period sdB pulsator was discovered and irregular light variations were found in two sdO stars. The found light variations allowed us to constrain the fraction of reflection effect binaries and the substellar companion fraction around sdB stars. The minimum fraction of reflection effect systems amongst the close sdB binaries might be greater than 15% and the fraction of close substellar companions in sdB binaries may be as high as 8.0%. This would result in a close substellar companion fraction to sdB stars of about 3%. This fraction is much higher than the fraction of brown dwarfs around possible progenitor systems, which are solar-type stars with substellar companions around 1 AU, as well as close binary white dwarfs with brown dwarf companions. This might suggest that common envelope interactions with substellar objects are preferentially followed by a hot subdwarf phase.

scholarly journals Discovery and characterisation of long-period eclipsing binary stars from Kepler K2 campaigns 1, 2, and 3

2018 ◽  
Vol 616 ◽  
pp. A38 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. F. L. Maxted ◽  
R. J. Hutcheon
Keyword(s):  
Binary Stars ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Binary Star ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Star Model ◽  
Eclipsing Binary ◽  
Giant Stars ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Eclipsing Binary Stars

Context. The Kepler K2 mission now makes it possible to find and study a wider variety of eclipsing binary stars than has been possible to-date, particularly long-period systems with narrow eclipses. Aims. Our aim is to characterise eclipsing binary stars observed by the Kepler K2 mission with orbital periods longer than P ≈ 5.5 days. Methods. The ellc binary star model has been used to determine the geometry of eclipsing binary systems in Kepler K2 campaigns 1, 2 and 3. The nature of the stars in each binary is estimated by comparison to stellar evolution tracks in the effective temperature – mean stellar density plane. Results. 43 eclipsing binary systems have been identified and 40 of these are characterised in some detail. The majority of these systems are found to be late-type dwarf and sub-giant stars with masses in the range 0.6–1.4 solar masses. We identify two eclipsing binaries containing red giant stars, including one bright system with total eclipses that is ideal for detailed follow-up observations. The bright B3V-type star HD 142883 is found to be an eclipsing binary in a triple star system. We observe a series of frequencies at large multiples of the orbital frequency in BW Aqr that we tentatively identify as tidally induced pulsations in this well-studied eccentric binary system. We find that the faint eclipsing binary EPIC 201160323 shows rapid apsidal motion. Rotational modulation signals are observed in 13 eclipsing systems, the majority of which are found to rotate non-synchronously with their orbits. Conclusions. The K2 mission is a rich source of data that can be used to find long period eclipsing binary stars. These data combined with follow-up observations can be used to precisely measure the masses and radii of stars for which such fundamental data are currently lacking, e.g., sub-giant stars and slowly-rotating low-mass stars.

scholarly journals Environmental effects on the ionisation of brown dwarf atmospheres

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A107 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Rodríguez-Barrera ◽  
Ch. Helling ◽  
K. Wood
Keyword(s):  
White Dwarf ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Brown Dwarfs ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Radiation Environment ◽  
Brown Dwarf ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
Lyman Continuum ◽  
Low Mass

Context. Brown dwarfs emit bursts of Hα, white-light flares, and show radio flares and quiescent radio emission. They are suggested to form aurorae, similar to planets in the solar system, but much more energetic. All these processes require a source gas with an appropriate degree of ionisation, which, so far, is mostly postulated to be sufficient. Aims. We aim to demonstrate that the Galactic environment influences atmospheric ionisation, and that it hence amplifies or enables the magnetic coupling of the atmospheres of ultra-cool objects, like brown dwarfs and free-floating planets. Methods. We build on our previous work on thermal ionisation of ultra-cool atmospheres and explore the effect of environmental high-energy radiation on the degree of ionisation in the atmosphere. We consider the effect of photoionisation by Lyman-continuum radiation in three different environments: in the interstellar radiation field (ISRF), O and B stars in star-forming regions, and in white dwarf companions in binary systems. We apply our Monte Carlo radiation transfer code to investigate the effect of Lyman-continuum photoionisation for prescribed atmosphere structures for very low-mass objects. Results. The external radiation environment plays an important role for the atmospheric ionisation of very low-mass, ultra-cool objects. Lyman-continuum irradiation greatly increases the level of ionisation in the uppermost atmospheric regions. Our results suggest that a shell of an almost fully ionised atmospheric gas emerges for brown dwarfs in star-forming regions and brown dwarfs in white dwarf binary systems. As a consequence, brown dwarf atmospheres can be magnetically coupled, which is the presumption for chromospheric heating to occur and for aurorae to emerge. First tests for assumed chromosphere-like temperature values suggest that the resulting free-free X-ray luminosities are comparable with those observed from non-accreting brown dwarfs in star-forming regions.

scholarly journals A Fast Search Technique for Binary Pulsars

2000 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 43-44
Author(s):  
Scott M. Ransom
Keyword(s):  
Power Spectrum ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Search Technique ◽  
Fast Search ◽  
Binary Pulsars ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Orbital Periods ◽  
Sensitive Method

AbstractI describe a computationally simple, efficient, and sensitive method to search long observations for pulsars in binary systems. The technique looks for orbitally induced sidebands in the power spectrum around a nominal spin frequency, enabling it to detect pulsars in high- or low-mass binaries with short orbital periods (Porb≲ 5 h).

scholarly journals The formation of brown dwarfs

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S266) ◽  
pp. 264-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ant Whitworth ◽  
Dimitri Stamatellos ◽  
Steffi Walch ◽  
Murat Kaplan ◽  
Simon Goodwin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Binary System ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Brown Dwarfs ◽  
Accretion Discs ◽  
Hydrogen Burning ◽  
Star Formation Region ◽  
Formation Region ◽  
Prestellar Cores ◽  
Low Mass

AbstractWe argue that brown dwarfs (BDs) and planemos form by the same mechanisms as low-mass hydrogen-burning stars, but that as one moves to lower and lower masses, an increasing fraction of these objects is formed by fragmentation of the outer parts (R ≳ 100 AU) of protostellar accretion discs around more massive primary protostars, which in turn formed in their own very-low-mass prestellar cores. Numerical simulations of disc fragmentation with realistic thermodynamics show that low-mass objects are readily formed by fragmentation of short-lived massive, extended protostellar accretion discs. Such objects tend subsequently to be liberated into the field at low speed, due to mutual interactions with the primary protostar. Many (~20%) are in low-mass (M1 + M2 < 0.2M⊙) binary systems with semi-major axes a ~ 1 to 2 AU or ~200 AU and mass ratios q ≡ M2/M1 ≳ 0.7. Most of the brown dwarfs have sufficiently large attendant discs to sustain accretion and outflows. Most of the BDs that remain bound to the primary protostar have wide orbits (i.e., there is a BD desert), and these BDs also have a significantly higher probability of being in a BD/BD binary system than do the brown dwarfs that are liberated into the field (just as observed). In this picture, the multiplicity statistics and velocity dispersion of brown dwarfs are largely determined by the eigen evolution of a small-N system, born from a single prestellar core, rather than the larger-scale dynamics of the parent cluster. Consequently, many of the statistical properties of brown dwarfs should not differ very much from one star-formation region to another.

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