Eclipsing Binaries in Dynamically Interacting Close, Multiple Systems

Abstract

Close, compact, hierarchical, multiple stellar systems, i.e., multiples having an outer orbital period from months to a few years, comprise a small, but continuously growing group of the triple and multiple star zoo. Many of them consist of at least one eclipsing pair of stars and, therefore, exhibit readily observable short-term dynamical interactions among the components. Thus, their dynamical and astrophysical properties can be explored with high precision. In this paper we present an overview of the history of the search for additional components around eclipsing binaries from the first serendipitous discoveries to more systematic recent studies. We describe the different observational detection methods and discuss their connections to the different kinds of astrophysical and dynamical information that can be mined from the different datasets. Moreover, the connection amongst the observable phenomena and the long-term dynamics of such systems is also discussed.

Six New Compact Triply Eclipsing Triples Found With TESS

“…2.3 of Borkovits et al (2022). In contrast to the other three triply eclipsing triples, of which the detailed analyses were published in Borkovits et al (2022), unfortunately, we were unable to catch any further third-body eclipses during our observing runs. This is the reason why this system was not included the above-mentioned study, but rather appears in this work.…”

“…2010), K2 (Howell et al 2014), and TESS (Ricker et al 2015), it has become relatively easy to discover triply eclipsing triple star systems. These are often found when an extra, isolated pair of eclipses appear in the lightcurve of an ordinary eclipsing binary (EB), or a long exotic-looking extra eclipse appears that cannot be produced in a simple binary (see the recent extensive review of Borkovits 2022). We refer to these as 'third-body' events where either the EB occults the third star (hereafter, the 'tertiary') in its outer orbit, or vice versa.…”

“…Triple star systems are also interesting in terms of the insight they provide about the formation and subsequent evolution of multistellar systems (see, e.g., Tokovinin 2021;Borkovits 2022;Sect. 7).…”

A Study of Nine Triply Eclipsing Triples

“…The presence of the tertiary can cause driven apsidal motion in the inner binary, and will lead to orbital plane precession -at least to the extent that the two planes are not aligned. If the mutual inclination angle, imut is large enough, i.e., 39 • , this can lead to Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai (ZLK) cycles (von Zeipel 1910;Lidov 1962;Kozai 1962; see also the review by Borkovits (2022) for a discussion of these and other dynamical effects in multi-stellar systems).…”

“…The Kepler (Borucki et al 2010), K2 (Howell et al 2014), and TESS (Ricker et al 2015) missions, with their long-term, wide field, precision photometry from space, have made it much easier to discover triply eclipsing triple star systems. They are typically identified when an extra, isolated pair of eclipses appears in the lightcurve of an ordinary eclipsing binary, or a long exotically-shaped extra eclipse appears that cannot be produced in a simple binary (see the recent extensive review of Borkovits 2022).…”