KIC 2831097 A short orbital-period candidate RR Lyrae binary

Abstract

KIC 2831097 was discovered to be a first-overtone RR Lyrae pulsator based on 4-year Kepler photometry (Sódor et al. 2017, MNRAS, 465, L1). The data show strong, 0.1 d amplitude systematic phase variations that can be explained by light travel-time effect caused by an about 2-year period orbital motion in a binary system, superimposed on a linear pulsation-period decrease. To verify the binary hypothesis, several well-timed radial-velocity observations will be sufficient.