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Published March 2011 | Published
Journal Article Open

Low-mass Eclipsing Binaries in the Initial Kepler Data Release

Abstract

We identify 231 objects in the newly released Cycle 0 data set from the Kepler Mission as double-eclipse, detached eclipsing binary systems with T_(eff) < 5500 K and orbital periods shorter than ~32 days. We model each light curve using the JKTEBOP code with a genetic algorithm to obtain precise values for each system. We identify 95 new systems with both components below 1.0 M_⊙ and eclipses of at least 0.1 mag, suitable for ground-based follow-up. Of these, 14 have periods less than 1.0 day, 52 have periods between 1.0 and 10.0 days, and 29 have periods greater than 10.0 days. This new sample of main-sequence, low-mass, double-eclipse, detached eclipsing binary candidates more than doubles the number of previously known systems and extends the sample into the completely heretofore unexplored P > 10.0 day period regime. We find preliminary evidence from these systems that the radii of low-mass stars in binary systems decrease with period. This supports the theory that binary spin-up is the primary cause of inflated radii in low-mass binary systems, although a full analysis of each system with radial-velocity and multi-color light curves is needed to fully explore this hypothesis. Also, we present seven new transiting planet candidates that do not appear among the list of 706 candidates recently released by the Kepler team, or in the Kepler False Positive Catalog, along with several other new and interesting systems. We also present novel techniques for the identification, period analysis, and modeling of eclipsing binaries.

Additional Information

© 2011 American Astronomical Society. Received 2010 July 24; accepted 2010 December 3; published 2011 February 2. We first and foremost thank the entire Kepler team and all those who have contributed to the Kepler Mission, without which this paper would not be possible. We also thank our second referee for a very thorough and helpful review. J.L.C acknowledges support from an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium. J.L.C., M.L.M., and T.E.H. are grateful for funding from Kepler's Guest Observer Program. M.L.M. acknowledges support from NASA through Hubble Fellowship grant HF-01210.01-A/ HF-51233.01 awarded by the STScI, which is operated by the AURA, Inc. for NASA, under contract NAS5-26555. We also thank Robert Edmonds at New Mexico State University for inspiring us to modify the AGA to use a Gaussian distribution to create new individuals. Some/all of the data presented in this paper were obtained from the Multimission Archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute (MAST). STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Support for MAST for non-HST data is provided by the NASA Office of Space Science via grant NNX09AF08G and by other grants and contracts. This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System.

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August 22, 2023
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