Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
197,768 studies31 sourcesUpdated 49 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astronomical Journal

Starspot Activity and Third-body Perturbations in the Eclipsing Binary KIC 9451096

  • Supattra Wongsriya1,2
  • Siramas Komonjinda1
  • Puji Irawati3
  • Suwicha Wannawichian1
  1. 1Chiang Mai University
  2. 2Buriram Rajabhat University
  3. 3National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

We investigate the short-period Algol-type (EA-type) eclipsing binary system KIC 9451096 using high-precision space-based photometry from Kepler and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) , complemented by ground-based observations from the Sierra Remote Observatories (SRO), which provide additional constraints on system properties. Eclipse timing variations (ETVs) are analyzed using more than 2000 eclipse timings, consisting of approximately 1000 primary and 1000 secondary minima. The timing data are examined using the light-travel time effect (LTTE) model and discrete Fourier transform (DFT) techniques to search for periodic modulations in the O – C diagram. The combined eclipse-timing and frequency analyses reveal three characteristic timescales: the 1.25 day orbital period, a dominant ∼85 day modulation consistent with LTTE induced by a tertiary companion, and secondary ∼5.2 day variability that is most plausibly associated with magnetic activity. The LTTE solution yields a minimum tertiary mass of M ₃ ≈ 0.0487 M ⊙ (∼51 M Jup ), assuming a total mass of 1.83 M ⊙ for the eclipsing pair. This is consistent with a brown dwarf in a nearly circular orbit. Light-curve modeling with PHOEBE 2.4.21 demonstrates that evolving starspots on the secondary component can reproduce the observed O’Connell effect. This supports the interpretation that magnetic activity contributes to the observed ∼5.2 day modulation. The LTTE and eclipse-timing analyses support the scenario in which KIC 9451096 is a hierarchical triple system containing a brown-dwarf tertiary companion, while the starspot modeling provides a complementary physical interpretation of the observed short-timescale photometric and timing variability associated with magnetic activity.

Related

  1. BS Cassiopeiae: A Contact Binary with Starspot-driven Variability and Evidence for Additional Components
    Min-Ji Jeong, Chun-Hwey Kim, Kyeongsoo Hong +5
    The Astronomical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsCrossref
  2. BS Cassiopeiae: A Contact Binary with Starspot-Driven Variability and Evidence for Additional Components
    Min-Ji Jeong, Chun-Hwey Kim, Kyeongsoo Hong +5
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsarXiv
  3. J060242.22+332452.7: hierarchical triple system with inner eclipsing contact binary
    Mikhail Kovalev
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textSolar & stellar physicsarXiv
  4. V1374 Tau: A Dwarf Eclipsing Binary with Starspots, a Superflare, and a Tertiary Companion
    Yuangui Yang, Shuang Wang, Huiyu Yuan
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsIOP/AASCrossref
  5. Frequent Optical Flares in an M-type Detached Eclipsing Binary TIC 349005337
    Xiao Zhou, Liying Zhu, Wei Hu +4
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsIOP/AASCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{wongsriya2026starspot,
  title = {{Starspot Activity and Third-body Perturbations in the Eclipsing Binary KIC 9451096}},
  author = {Supattra Wongsriya and Siramas Komonjinda and Puji Irawati and Suwicha Wannawichian},
  journal = {The Astronomical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-3881/aea3f1},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aea3f1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Starspot Activity and Third-body Perturbations in the Eclipsing Binary KIC 9451096
AU  - Supattra Wongsriya
AU  - Siramas Komonjinda
AU  - Puji Irawati
AU  - Suwicha Wannawichian
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - The Astronomical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-3881/aea3f1
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aea3f1
AB  - We investigate the short-period Algol-type (EA-type) eclipsing binary system KIC 9451096 using high-precision space-based photometry from Kepler and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) , complemented by ground-based observations from the Sierra Remote Observatories (SRO), which provide additional constraints on system properties. Eclipse timing variations (ETVs) are analyzed using more than 2000 eclipse timings, consisting of approximately 1000 primary and 1000 secondary minima. The timing data are examined using the light-travel time effect (LTTE) model and discrete Fourier transform (DFT) techniques to search for periodic modulations in the O – C diagram. The combined eclipse-timing and frequency analyses reveal three characteristic timescales: the 1.25 day orbital period, a dominant ∼85 day modulation consistent with LTTE induced by a tertiary companion, and secondary ∼5.2 day variability that is most plausibly associated with magnetic activity. The LTTE solution yields a minimum tertiary mass of M ₃ ≈ 0.0487 M ⊙ (∼51 M Jup ), assuming a total mass of 1.83 M ⊙ for the eclipsing pair. This is consistent with a brown dwarf in a nearly circular orbit. Light-curve modeling with PHOEBE 2.4.21 demonstrates that evolving starspots on the secondary component can reproduce the observed O’Connell effect. This supports the interpretation that magnetic activity contributes to the observed ∼5.2 day modulation. The LTTE and eclipse-timing analyses support the scenario in which KIC 9451096 is a hierarchical triple system containing a brown-dwarf tertiary companion, while the starspot modeling provides a complementary physical interpretation of the observed short-timescale photometric and timing variability associated with magnetic activity.
SN  - 0004-6256
SN  - 1538-3881
ER  -