Marsh, Tom, Armstrong, David J. and Carter, P. J. (2014) KIC 2856960 : the impossible triple star. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 445 (1). pp. 309-319. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu1733 ISSN 0035-8711.

PDF WRAP_1409.0722v1.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (5Mb)

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

KIC 2856960 is a star in the Kepler field which was observed by Kepler for four years. It shows the primary and secondary eclipses of a close binary of period 0.258 d as well as complex dipping events that last for about 1.5 d at a time and recur on a 204 d period. The dips are thought to result when the close binary passes across the face of a third star. In this paper, we present an attempt to model the dips. Despite the apparent simplicity of the system and strenuous efforts to find a solution, we find that we cannot match the dips with a triple star while satisfying Kepler's laws. The problem is that to match the dips, the separation of the close binary has to be larger than possible relative to the outer orbit given the orbital periods. Quadruple star models can get round this problem but require the addition of a so-far undetected intermediate period of the order of 5–20 d that has been a near-perfect integer divisor of the outer 204 d period. Although we have no good explanation for KIC 2856960, using the full set of Kepler data we are able to update several of its parameters. We also present a spectrum showing that KIC 2856960 is dominated by light from a K3- or K4-type star.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Kepler's laws , Eclipsing binaries
Journal or Publication Title:	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0035-8711
Official Date:	24 September 2014
Dates:	Date Event 24 September 2014 Available 21 August 2014 Accepted 16 August 2014 Submitted
Volume:	445
Number:	1
Page Range:	pp. 309-319
DOI:	10.1093/mnras/stu1733
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit:	19 October 2016
Date of first compliant Open Access:	20 October 2016
Funder:	Science and Technology Facilities Council (Great Britain) (STFC), University of Warwick Institute of Advanced Study Scholarship, United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Royal Greenwich Observatory. Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands)
Grant number:	ST/L000733/1 (STFC)
Adapted As:
Open Access Version:	ArXiv

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads