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- Swayne, M.I., et al.
(author)
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The EBLM Project– XI. Mass, radius, and effective temperature measurements for 23 M-dwarf companions to solar-type stars observed with CHEOPS
- 2024
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 528:4, s. 5703-5722
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Observations of low-mass stars have frequently shown a disagreement between observed stellar radii and radii predicted by theoretical stellar structure models. This ‘radius inflation’ problem could have an impact on both stellar and exoplanetary science. We present the final results of our observation programme with the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) to obtain high-precision light curves of eclipsing binaries with low-mass stellar companions (EBLMs). Combined with the spectroscopic orbits of the solar-type companions, we can derive the masses, radii, and effective temperatures of 23 M-dwarf stars. We use the PYCHEOPS data analysis software to analyse their primary and secondary occultations. For all but one target, we also perform analyses with Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curves for comparison. We have assessed the impact of starspot-induced variation on our derived parameters and account for this in our radius and effective temperature uncertainties using simulated light curves. We observe trends in inflation with both metallicity and orbital separation. We also observe a strong trend in the difference between theoretical and observational effective temperatures with metallicity. There is no such trend with orbital separation. These results are not consistent with the idea that the observed inflation in stellar radius combines with lower effective temperature to preserve the luminosity predicted by low-mass stellar models. Our EBLM systems provide high-quality and homogeneous measurements that can be used in further studies of radius inflation.
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| 2. |
- Sebastian, D., et al.
(author)
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The EBLM project - IX. Five fully convective M-dwarfs, precisely measured with CHEOPS and TESS light curves
- 2023
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 519:3, s. 3546-3563
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Eclipsing binaries are important benchmark objects to test and calibrate stellar structure and evolution models. This is especially true for binaries with a fully convective M-dwarf component for which direct measurements of these stars' masses and radii are difficult using other techniques. Within the potential of M-dwarfs to be exoplanet host stars, the accuracy of theoretical predictions of their radius and effective temperature as a function of their mass is an active topic of discussion. Not only the parameters of transiting exoplanets but also the success of future atmospheric characterization relies on accurate theoretical predictions. We present the analysis of five eclipsing binaries with low-mass stellar companions out of a subsample of 23, for which we obtained ultra-high-precision light curves using the CHEOPS satellite. The observation of their primary and secondary eclipses are combined with spectroscopic measurements to precisely model the primary parameters and derive the M-dwarfs mass, radius, surface gravity, and effective temperature estimates using the PYCHEOPS data analysis software. Combining these results to the same set of parameters derived from TESS light curves, we find very good agreement (better than 1 percent for radius and better than 0.2 percent for surface gravity). We also analyse the importance of precise orbits from radial velocity measurements and find them to be crucial to derive M-dwarf radii in a regime below 5 percent accuracy. These results add five valuable data points to the mass-radius diagram of fully convective M-dwarfs.
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