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The EBLM Project VI. The mass and radius of five low-mass stars in F+M binaries discovered by the WASP survey

Gill, S.; Maxted, P.F.L.; Evans, J.A.; Evans, D.F.; Smalley, B.; Gary, B.L.; Southworth, J.; Anderson, D.R.; Bouchy, F.; Cameron, A.C.; Dominik, M.; Faedi, F.; Gillon, M.; Gomez Maqueo Chew, Y.; Hebb, L.; Hellier, C.; Jørgensen, U.G.; Longa-Peña, P.; Martin, D.V.; McCormac, J.; Pepe, F.V.; Pollaco, D.; Queloz, D.; Ségransan, D.; Snodgrass, C.; Turner, O.D.; Triaud, A.H.M.; Udry, S.; West, R.G.

The EBLM Project VI. The mass and radius of five low-mass stars in F+M binaries discovered by the WASP survey Thumbnail


Authors

S. Gill

J.A. Evans

D.F. Evans

B.L. Gary

D.R. Anderson

F. Bouchy

A.C. Cameron

M. Dominik

F. Faedi

M. Gillon

Y. Gomez Maqueo Chew

L. Hebb

U.G. Jørgensen

P. Longa-Peña

D.V. Martin

J. McCormac

F.V. Pepe

D. Pollaco

D. Queloz

D. Ségransan

C. Snodgrass

O.D. Turner

A.H.M. Triaud

S. Udry

R.G. West



Abstract

Some M-dwarfs around F-/G-type stars have been measured to be hotter and larger than predicted by stellar evolution models. Inconsistencies between observations and models need addressing with more mass, radius and luminosity measurements of low-mass stars to test and refine evolutionary models. Our aim is to measure the masses, radii and ages of the stars in five low-mass eclipsing binary systems discovered by the WASP survey. We use WASP photometry to establish eclipse-time ephemerides and to obtain initial estimates for the transit depth and width. Radial velocity measurements were simultaneously fitted with follow-up photometry to find the best-fitting orbital solution. This solution was combined with measurements of atmospheric parameters to interpolate evolutionary models and estimate the mass of the primary star, and the mass and radius of the M-dwarf companion. We assess how the best fitting orbital solution changes if an alternative limb-darkening law is used and quantify the systematic effects of unresolved companions. We also gauge how the best-fitting evolutionary model changes if different values are used for the mixing length parameter and helium enhancement. We report the mass and radius of five M-dwarfs and find little evidence of inflation with respect to evolutionary models. The primary stars in two systems are near the ``blue hook'' stage of their post sequence evolution, resulting in two possible solutions for mass and age. We find that choices in helium enhancement and mixing-length parameter can introduce an additional 3-5\,\% uncertainty in measured M-dwarf mass. Unresolved companions can introduce an additional 3-8\% uncertainty in the radius of an M-dwarf, while the choice of limb-darkening law can introduce up to an additional 2\% uncertainty.

Citation

Gill, S., Maxted, P., Evans, J., Evans, D., Smalley, B., Gary, B., …West, R. (2019). The EBLM Project VI. The mass and radius of five low-mass stars in F+M binaries discovered by the WASP survey. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 626, Article A119. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833054

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 29, 2019
Online Publication Date Jun 24, 2019
Publication Date 2019-06
Journal Astronomy & Astrophysics
Print ISSN 0004-6361
Publisher EDP Sciences
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 626
Article Number A119
DOI https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833054
Keywords binaries, eclipsing, stars, atmospheres
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833054

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