BU Canis Minoris – the most compact known flat doubly eclipsing quadruple system
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 524, pp. 4220–4238
Abstract
ABSTRACT We have found that the 2+2 quadruple star system BU CMi is currently the most compact quadruple system known, with an extremely short outer period of only 121 d. The previous record holder was TIC 219006972 (Kostov et al.), with a period of 168 d. The quadruple nature of BU CMi was established by Volkov, Kravtsova & Chochol, but they misidentified the outer period as 6.6 yr. BU CMi contains two eclipsing binaries (EBs), each with a period near 3 d, and a substantial eccentricity of ≃0.22. All four stars are within ∼0.1 M⊙ of 2.4 M⊙. Both binaries exhibit dynamically driven apsidal motion with fairly short apsidal periods of ≃30 yr, due to the short outer orbital period. The outer period of 121 d is found both from the dynamical perturbations, with this period imprinted on the eclipse timing variations curve of each EB by the other binary, and by modelling the complex line profiles in a collection of spectra. We find that the three orbital planes are all mutually aligned to within 1 deg, but the overall system has an inclination angle near 83.5°. We utilize a complex spectro-photodynamical analysis to compute and tabulate all the interesting stellar and orbital parameters of the system. Finally, we also find an unexpected dynamical perturbation on a time-scale of several years whose origin we explore. This latter effect was misinterpreted by Volkov et al. and led them to conclude that the outer period was 6.6 yr rather than the 121 d that we establish here.
Authors 28
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T. Pribulla corresponding
Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences , Tatranská Lomnica 059 60, Slovakia
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Eötvös Loránd University · University of Szeged · Konkoly Observatory · HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences
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Baja Astronomical Observatory of Szeged University , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
ELKH-SZTE Stellar Astrophysics Research Group , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
ELTE Gothard Astrophysical Observatory , H-9700 Szombathely, Szent Imre h. u. 112, Hungary
Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences , H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, Hungary
MTA-ELTE Exoplanet Research Group , H-9700 Szombathely, Szent Imre h. u. 112, Hungary
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Department of Physics, MIT Kavli Institute , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Department of Physics, MIT Kavli Institute , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Baja Astronomical Observatory of Szeged University , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
Department of Experimental Physics, University of Szeged , H-6720 Szeged, Dóm tér 9, Hungary
ELKH-SZTE Stellar Astrophysics Research Group , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
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Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Astronomical Institute, Charles University , V Holešovičkách 2, Praha 8, Prague 180 00, Czech Republic
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Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences , Tatranská Lomnica 059 60, Slovakia
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Konkoly Observatory · HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences
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Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, MTA Centre of Excellence , Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
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Czech Academy of Sciences, Astronomical Institute
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Variable Star and Exoplanet Section, Czech Astronomical Society , Fričova 298, CZ-251 65 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
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Czech Academy of Sciences, Astronomical Institute · FZU - Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Affiliation as printed
FZU - Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Na Slovance 1999/2, CZ-182 00 Praha, Czech Republic
Variable Star and Exoplanet Section, Czech Astronomical Society , Fričova 298, CZ-251 65 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
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Czech Academy of Sciences, Astronomical Institute
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Hvězdárna Jaroslava Trnky ve Slaném , Nosačická 1713, Slaný 1, CZ-274 01, Czech Republic
Variable Star and Exoplanet Section, Czech Astronomical Society , Fričova 298, CZ-251 65 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
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Affiliation as printed
Baja Astronomical Observatory of Szeged University , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
ELKH-SZTE Stellar Astrophysics Research Group , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
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Affiliation as printed
Baja Astronomical Observatory of Szeged University , H-6500 Baja, Szegedi út, Kt. 766, Hungary
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Leiden University · Leiden Observatory
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Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , Postbus 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
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Brorfelde Observatory , Observator Gyldenkernes Vej 7, DK-4340 Tølløse, Denmark
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Citizen Scientist, c/o Zooniverse, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Build., Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
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Amateur Astronomer , Glendale, AZ 85308, USA
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Amateur Astronomer , 12812 SE 69th Place Bellevue, WA 98006, USA
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Citizen Scientist, c/o Zooniverse, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Build., Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
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Goddard Space Flight Center · Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
SETI Institute , 189 Bernardo Avenue, Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
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Citizen Scientist , Planet Hunter, Petrozavodsk 185031, Russia
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Department of Physics, MIT Kavli Institute , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Amateur Astronomer , 7507 52nd Place NE Marysville, WA 98270, USA
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Center for Data Intensive and Time Domain Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , 133 Peyton Hall, 4 Ivy Ln, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , 133 Peyton Hall, 4 Ivy Ln, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , 133 Peyton Hall, 4 Ivy Ln, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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