A search for binary candidates among the fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars observed by Kepler

Abstract

Although roughly half of all stars are considered to be part of binary or multiple systems, there are only two confirmed cases of RR Lyrae pulsators with companions. One of them is TU Uma [1] - a classical RR Lyrae star in a very eccentric orbit - and the other is OGLE-BLG-RRLYR-02792 [2]. Considering the wealth of well-studied RR Lyrae stars, this number is astoundingly low. Having more RR Lyrae stars in binary systems at hand would be extremely valuable to get independent measurements of the masses. The data from the Kepler mission with their unprecedented precision and the long time span of about four years offer a unique possibility to systematically search for the signatures of binarity in RR Lyrae stars. Using the pulsation as a clock, we studied the variations in the timing of maximum light to hunt for possible binary systems in the sample.