STEREO observations of stars and the search for exoplanets

Abstract

The feasibility of using data from the NASA STEREO mission for variable star and asteroseismology studies has been examined. A data analysis pipeline has been developed that is able to apply selected algorithms to the entire database of nearly a million stars to search for signs of variability. An analysis limited to stars of magnitude 10.5 has been carried out, which has resulted in the extraction of 263 eclipsing binaries (EBs), of which 122 are not recorded as such in the SIMBAD online database. The characteristics of the STEREO observations are shown to be extremely well-suited to variable star studies with the ability to provide continuous phase coverage for extended periods as well as repeated visits that allow both short and long term variability to be observed. This will greatly inform studies of particular stars, such as the pre-cataclysmic variable V471 Tau, as well as entire classes of stars, including many forms of rotational variability. The high-precision photometry has also revealed a potentially substellar companion to a bright (R = 7.5 mag) nearby star (HD 213597), detected with 5-sigma significance. This would provide a significant contribution to exoplanet research if follow-up observations ascertain the mass to be within the planetary domain. Some particularly unusual EBs from the recovered sample are discussed, including a possible reclassification of a well-known star as an EB rather than a rotational variable (HR 7355) and several particularly eccentric systems, including very long-period EBs.

40 pages, 1 table, 42 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (5)

• Kepler Mission Design, Realized Photometric Performance, and Early Science
• Kepler Eclipsing Binary Stars. I. Catalog and Principal Characterization of 1879 Eclipsing Binaries in the First Data Release
• Discovery of a strong magnetic field in the rapidly rotating B2Vn star HR 7355
• Spot patterns and differential rotation in the eclipsing pre-CV binary,V471 Tau
• MOST photometry and DDO spectroscopy of the eclipsing (white dwarf + red dwarf) binary V471 Tau

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• Evidence for conservative mass transfer in the classical Algol system $\delta$ Librae from its surface carbon-to-nitrogen abundance ratio
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• The Eclipsing $\delta$ Scuti Star EPIC 245932119
• STEREO/HI and Optical Observations of the Classical Nova V5583 Sagittarii
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• Precise mass and radius measurements for the components of the bright solar-type eclipsing binary star V1094 Tau
• Determination of mass and orbital parameters of a low-mass star HD 213597B
• Optical characterization and Radial velocity monitoring with Belgian and Indian Telescopes (ORBIT): the eclipsing binaries EPIC 211982753 and EPIC 211915147
• Light-time effect detected in fourteen eclipsing binaries
• STEREO observations of long period variables
• New eclipsing binaries with mercury-manganese stars
• Evryscope-South Survey of Upper- and Pre-main Sequence Solar Neighborhood Stars
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