Astronomy & Astrophysics Seminar: A Large TESS Sample of Short-Period Ellipsoidal Binary Candidates: Implications for the Binary and Compact-Object Populations

Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/87875748926?pwd=MGh1dk9DeXBxa2FEL0thMVRaaHZGQT09

Abstract:

Binary systems with small orbital separations show photometric signatures that result from the tidal distortion of their component stars, termed ellipsoidal modulation, as well as from Doppler beaming and from reflection. These signatures can be used to identify non-eclipsing binary systems, producing a sample whose selection effects differ from those of an eclipsing binary catalogue. We used the BEER algorithm, which fits for all three of these effects, to search through the light-curves of 9,000,000 targets taken from TESS full-frame images, and selected a sample of candidate ellipsoidal binaries with orbital periods < 7 days. I will present an overview of this sample, including its selection effects and contaminants. I will show how the sample can be used to illuminate the underlying population of short-period binaries, by characterising the distributions of periods and masses.

Seminar Organizer: Dr. Iair Arcavi