Using MECI to Mine Eclipsing Binaries from Photometric Exoplanet Surveys
Abstract
We describe the Method for Eclipsing Component Identification (MECI), which is an automated method for assigning the most likely absolute physical parameters to the components of an eclipsing binary. MECI is unique in that it requires only the photometric light curve and combined color of the eclipsing binaries. We have implemented this method using published theoretical isochrones and limb-darkening coefficients, and publicly released its source code. MECI lends itself to creating large catalogues through the systematic analyses of datasets consisting of photometric time series, such as those produced by OGLE, MACHO, HAT, and many others surveys. We will be presenting results of data mining the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES). This sort of mining technique may be used for both characterizing stellar populations and for discovering rare and interesting binary systems. Of particular interest are the lower main-sequence stars, for which models underestimate their sizes by as much as 20%. Progress in this area has been hampered by the small number of suitable M-dwarf binary systems with accurately determined stellar properties. Finding additional systems by mining Exoplanet Surveys may provide significant benefits for our understanding of such low-mass stars.
- Publication:
-
Binary Stars as Critical Tools & Tests in Contemporary Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- August 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007IAUS..240..268D