Looking for the dM in sdB+dM Systems
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Date
2015-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
We report eclipse timings and optical/infrared photometry of a sample of binary stars that include low-mass, nondegenerate stars, some of which are post-common envelope (PCE) secondary companions to hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars. We model the reflection effect in the later systems to characterize the temperature of the heated hemisphere of the secondaries, first from blackbody fits and then by comparison to libraries of the spectral energy distribution of dwarf M stars. We explore how consistent our phenomenological results are with the properties inferred from analysis of light curve shapes. Currently, the masses of these low-mass stars are unknown. We discuss the prospects for turning these reflection effect systems into double-lined spectroscopic binaries for characterization of the mass-radius relationship of low-mass PCE secondaries.
Description
Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Scholarship
Keywords
Astronomy, Stars, Binaries, Eclipse Timings