No Arabic abstract
We report our spectroscopic monitoring of the detached, grazing, and slightly eccentric 12-day double-lined eclipsing binary EPIC 219568666 in the old nearby open cluster Ruprecht 147. This is the second eclipsing system to be analyzed in this cluster, following our earlier study of EPIC 219394517. Our analysis of the radial velocities combined with the light curve from the K2 mission yield absolute masses and radii for EPIC 219568666 of M1 = 1.121 +/- 0.013 M(Sun) and R1 = 1.1779 +/- 0.0070 R(Sun) for the F8 primary, and M2 = 0.7334 +/- 0.0050 M(Sun) and R2 = 0.640 +/- 0.017 R(Sun) for the faint secondary. Comparison with current stellar evolution models calculated for the known metallicity of the cluster points to a primary star that is oversized, as is often seen in active M dwarfs, but this seems rather unlikely for a star of its mass and with a low level of activity. Instead, we suspect a subtle bias in the radius ratio inferred from the photometry, despite our best efforts to avoid it, which may be related to the presence of spots on one or both stars. The radius sum for the binary, which bypasses this possible problem, indicates an age of 2.76 +/- 0.61 Gyr that is in good agreement with a similar estimate from the binary in our earlier study.
Eclipsing binaries in star clusters offer more stringent tests of stellar evolution theory than field binaries because models must not only match the binary properties, but also the radiative properties of all other cluster members at a single chemical composition and a single age. Here we report new spectroscopic observations of the G type, detached eclipsing binary EPIC 219394517 in the open cluster Ruprecht 147 ([Fe/H] = +0.10), which was observed in late 2015 by the K2 mission. A joint analysis of our radial-velocity measurements and the K2 light curve shows the 6.5 day orbit to be very nearly circular. We derive highly precise masses of 1.0782 +/- 0.0019 Msun and 1.0661 (+0.0027/-0.0021) Msun, radii of 1.055 +/- 0.011 Rsun and 1.042 +/- 0.012 Rsun, and effective temperatures of 5930 +/- 100 K and 5880 +/- 100 K for the primary and secondary, respectively. The distance we infer, 283 (+18/-16) pc, corresponds to a parallax in good agreement with the Gaia/DR2 value for the star. Current stellar evolution models from the MIST and PARSEC series match the above physical properties very well at ages of 2.48 and 2.65 Gyr. Isochrones for these same ages and the measured composition, along with our reddening estimate for EPIC 219394517, also show generally good agreement with the optical and near-infrared color-magnitude diagrams of the cluster, which can be constructed with no free parameters as the distances of all member stars are known from Gaia.
We report follow-up spectroscopic observations of the 1.62 day, K-type, detached, active, near-circular, double-lined eclipsing binary EPIC 219511354 in the open cluster Ruprecht 147, identified previously on the basis of photometric observations from the Kepler/K2 mission. This is the fourth eclipsing system analyzed in this cluster. A combined analysis of the light curve and radial velocities yields accurate masses of M(Aa) = 0.912 +/- 0.013 MSun and M(Ab) = 0.822 +/- 0.010 MSun for the primary (star Aa) and secondary (Ab), along with radii of R(Aa) = 0.920 +/- 0.016 RSun and R(Ab) = 0.851 +/- 0.016 RSun, and effective temperatures of 5035 +/- 150 and 4690 +/- 130 K, respectively. Comparison with current models of stellar evolution for the known age and metallicity of the cluster reveals that both radii are larger (by 10--14%) and both temperatures cooler (by $sim$6%) than theoretically predicted, as is often seen in M dwarfs. This is likely caused by the significant stellar activity in the system, manifested here by 6% peak-to-peak out-of-eclipse variability, a filled-in H$alpha$ line, and its detection as an X-ray source. We also find EPIC 219511354 to be a hierarchical triple system, with a low-mass tertiary in an eccentric 220 day orbit.
Spectroscopic observations are reported for the 2.75 day, double-lined, detached eclipsing binary EPIC 219552514 located at the turnoff of the old nearby open cluster Ruprecht 147. A joint analysis of our radial velocity measurements and the K2 light curve leads to masses of M1 = 1.509 (+0.063 / -0.056) MSun and M2 = 0.649 (+0.015 / -0.014) MSun for the primary and secondary, along with radii of R1 = 2.505 (+0.026 / -0.031) RSun and R2 = 0.652 (+0.013 / -0.012) RSun, respectively. The effective temperatures are 6180 +/- 100 K for the F7 primary and 4010 +/- 170 K for the late K secondary. The orbit is circular, and the stars rotation appears to be synchronized with the orbital motion. This is the third eclipsing system analyzed in the same cluster, following our earlier studies of EPIC 219394517 and EPIC 219568666. By comparison with stellar evolution models from the PARSEC series, we infer an age of 2.67 (+0.39 / -0.55) Gyr that is consistent with the estimates for the other two systems. EPIC 219552514 is a hierarchical triple system, with the period of the slightly eccentric outer orbit being 463 days. The unseen tertiary is either a low-mass M dwarf or a white dwarf.
We report the discovery of EPIC 219388192 b, a transiting brown dwarf in a 5.3-day orbit around a member star of Ruprecht-147, the oldest nearby open cluster association, which was photometrically monitored by K2 during its Campaign 7. We combine the K2 time-series data with ground-based adaptive optics imaging and high resolution spectroscopy to rule out false positive scenarios and determine the main parameters of the system. EPIC 219388192 b has a radius of $R_mathrm{b}$=$0.937pm0.042$~$mathrm{R_{Jup}}$ and mass of $M_mathrm{b}$=$36.50pm0.09$~$mathrm{M_{Jup}}$, yielding a mean density of $59.0pm8.1$~$mathrm{g,cm^{-3}}$. The host star is nearly a Solar twin with mass $M_star$=$0.99pm0.05$~$mathrm{M_{odot}}$, radius $R_star$=$1.01pm0.04$~$mathrm{R_{odot}}$, effective temperature $mathrm{T_{eff}}$=$5850pm85$~K and iron abundance [Fe/H]=$0.03pm0.08$~dex. Its age, spectroscopic distance, and reddening are consistent with those of Ruprecht-147, corroborating its cluster membership. EPIC 219388192 b is the first brown dwarf with precise determinations of mass, radius and age, and serves as benchmark for evolutionary models in the sub-stellar regime.
Flares, energetic eruptions on the surfaces of stars, are an unmistakable manifestation of magnetically driven emission. Their occurrence rates and energy distributions trace stellar characteristics such as mass and age. But before flares can be used to constrain stellar properties, the flaring-age-mass relation requires proper calibration. This work sets out to quantify flaring activity of independently age-dated main sequence stars for a broad range of spectral types using optical light curves obtained by the Kepler satellite. Drawing from the complete K2 archive, we searched 3435 $sim 80$ day long light curves of 2111 open cluster members for flares using the open-source software packages K2SC to remove instrumental and astrophysical variability from K2 light curves, and AltaiPony to search and characterize the flare candidates. We confirmed a total of 3844 flares on high probability open cluster members with ages from zero age main sequence (Pleiades) to 3.6 Gyr (M67). We extended the mass range probed in the first study of this series to span from Sun-like stars to mid-M dwarfs. We added the Hyades (690 Myr) to the sample as a comparison cluster to Praesepe (750 Myr), the 2.6 Gyr old Ruprecht 147, and several hundred light curves from the late K2 Campaigns in the remaining clusters. The flare energy distribution was similar in the entire parameter space, following a power law relation with exponent $alphaapprox 1.84-2.39$. The flaring rates declined with age, and declined faster for higher mass stars. We found evidence that a rapid decline in flaring activity occurred in M1-M2 dwarfs around Hyades/Praesepe age, when these stars spun down to rotation periods of about 10 days, while higher mass stars had already transitioned to lower flaring rates, and lower mass stars still resided in the saturated activity regime. (abridged)