Low-mass eclipsing binaries in the WFCAM Transit Survey: the persistence of the M-dwarf radius inflation problem

Abstract

We present the characterization of 5 new short-period low-mass eclipsing binaries from the WFCAM Transit Survey. The analysis was performed by using the photometric WFCAM J-mag data and additional low- and intermediate-resolution spectroscopic data to obtain both orbital and physical properties of the studied sample. The light curves and the measured radial velocity curves were modeled simultaneously with the JKTEBOP code, with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations for the error estimates. The best-model fit have revealed that the investigated detached binaries are in very close orbits, with orbital separations of $2.9\le a\le 6.7$ $R_{\odot }$ and short periods of $0.59\le P_{\mathrm{orb}}\le 1.72$ d, approximately. We have derived stellar masses between $0.24$ and $0.72$ $M_{\odot }$ and radii ranging from $0.42$ to $0.67$ $R_{\odot }$. The great majority of the LMEBs in our sample has an estimated radius far from the predicted values according to evolutionary models. The components with derived masses of $M<0.6$ $M_{\odot }$ present a radius inflation of $\sim$$9\%$ or more. This general behavior follows the trend of inflation for partially-radiative stars proposed previously. These systems add to the increasing sample of low-mass stellar radii that are not well-reproduced by stellar models. They further highlight the need to understand the magnetic activity and physical state of small stars. Missions like TESS will provide many such systems to perform high-precision radius measurements to tightly constrain low-mass stellar evolution models.

References in corpus (45)

• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Technical Summary
• The chemical composition of the Sun
• The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-orbit Performance
• Intrinsic Colors, Temperatures, and Bolometric Corrections of Pre-Main Sequence Stars
• A Survey of Stellar Families: Multiplicity of Solar-Type Stars
• Accurate masses and radii of normal stars: modern results and applications
• The NextGen Model Atmosphere grid for $3000\le \Teff \le 10000\K$
• The Limiting Effects of Dust in Brown Dwarf Model Atmospheres
• Models of Stars, Brown Dwarfs and Exoplanets
• VOSA: Virtual Observatory SED Analyzer. An application to the Collinder 69 open cluster
• The Evolution of Cataclysmic Variables as Revealed by their Donor Stars
• The effect of red noise on planetary transit detection
• The angular size of dwarf stars and subgiants - Surface brightness relations calibrated by interferometry
• The UKIRT Wide Field Camera ZYJHK Photometric System: Calibration from 2MASS
• Evolution of low-mass star and brown dwarf eclipsing binaries
• Eclipsing binaries in open clusters. II. V453 Cyg in NGC 6871
• KOI-126: A Triply-Eclipsing Hierarchical Triple with Two Low-Mass Stars
• Spectral Energy Distributions for Disk and Halo M--Dwarfs
• The Mass-Radius(-Rotation?) Relation for Low-Mass Stars
• GU Boo: A New 0.6 Msun Detached Eclipsing Binary
• Eclipsing binaries as standard candles: HD 23642 and the distance to the Pleiades
• The solar-type eclipsing binary system LL Aquarii
• Eclipsing binaries observed with the WIRE satellite. II. beta Aurigae and non-linear limb darkening in light curves
• Meeting the Cool Neighbors III: Spectroscopy of Northern NLTT Stars
• The Eclipsing Binary V1061 Cygni: Confronting Stellar Evolution Models for Active and Inactive Solar-Type Stars
• The Monitor project: Data processing and lightcurve production
• GJ 3236: a new bright, very low-mass eclipsing binary system discovered by the MEarth observatory
• Practical Planet Prospecting
• A Tale of Two Anomalies: Depletion, Dispersion, and the Connection Between the Stellar Lithium Spread and Inflated Radii on the Pre-Main Sequence
• Discovery and characterisation of detached M-dwarf eclipsing binaries in the WFCAM Transit Survey
• Four ultra-short period eclipsing M-dwarf binaries in the WFCAM Transit Survey
• WTS-2 b: a hot Jupiter orbiting near its tidal destruction radius around a K-dwarf
• VLA and CARMA Observations of Protostars in the Cepheus Clouds: Sub-arcsecond Proto-Binaries Formed via Disk Fragmentation
• A New Low-Mass Eclipsing Binary from SDSS-II
• A highly unequal-mass eclipsing M-dwarf binary in the WFCAM Transit Survey
• Absolute dimensions of the unevolved B-type eclipsing binary GG Orionis
• Magnetic Inflation and Stellar Mass I: Revised Parameters for the Component Stars of the Kepler Low-mass Eclipsing Binary T-Cyg1-12664
• Discovery and Precise Characterization by the MEarth Project of LP 661-13, an Eclipsing Binary Consisting of Two Fully Convective Low-mass Stars
• LP133-373: A New Chromospherically Active Eclipsing dMe Binary with a Distant, Cool White Dwarf Companion
• The seven sisters DANCe.II. Proper motions and the lithium-rotation-activity connection for G and K Pleiads
• The Monitor project: the search for transits in the open cluster NGC 2362
• A Bright Short Period M-M Eclipsing Binary from the KELT Survey: Magnetic Activity and the Mass-Radius Relationship for M-dwarfs
• A sensitivity analysis of the WFCAM Transit Survey for short-period giant planets around M dwarfs
• Search for bright nearby M dwarfs with Virtual Observatory tools
• The triple system HIP96515: a low-mass eclipsing binary with a DB white dwarf companion

Cited by in corpus (12)

• The scatter of the M dwarf mass-radius relationship
• Exploring the age dependent properties of M and L dwarfs using Gaia and SDSS
• Modeling Kepler Eclipsing Binaries: Homogeneous Inference of Orbital & Stellar Properties
• A transiting brown dwarf in a 2 hour orbit
• The radius inflation problem in short-period low-mass binaries: a large sample analysis
• Detached eclipsing binaries from the Kepler field: radii and photometric masses of components in short-period systems
• The SDSS-HET Survey of Kepler Eclipsing Binaries. Description of the Survey and First Results
• Optical observations and cyclops post-shock region modelling of the polar V348 Pav
• X-ray and UV emission of the ultrashort-period, low-mass eclipsing binary system BX Tri
• The first low-mass eclipsing binary within the fully convective zone from TMTS
• NGTS-EB-8: A double-lined eclipsing M+M binary discovered by citizen scientists
• The Calar Alto CAFOS Direct Imaging First Data Release