Absolute properties of the low-mass eclipsing binary CM Draconis

TL;DR

This study provides the most precise measurements to date of the masses and radii of the low-mass eclipsing binary CM Draconis, confirming existing discrepancies with stellar models likely caused by magnetic activity.

Contribution

A complete reanalysis of CM Draconis with new and existing data yields highly accurate stellar properties, serving as a benchmark for testing low-mass stellar models.

Findings

Measured stellar masses and radii with <1% uncertainty.

Confirmed discrepancies between observations and theoretical models.

Inferred apsidal motion from three decades of eclipse timings.

Abstract

Spectroscopic and eclipsing binary systems offer the best means for determining accurate physical properties of stars, including their masses and radii. The data available for low-mass stars have yielded firm evidence that stellar structure models predict smaller radii and higher effective temperatures than observed, but the number of systems with detailed analyses is still small. In this paper we present a complete reanalysis of one of such eclipsing systems, CM Dra, composed of two dM4.5 stars. New and existing light curves as well as a radial velocity curve are modeled to measure the physical properties of both components. The masses and radii determined for the components of CM Dra are M1=0.2310+/-0.0009 Msun, M2=0.2141+/-0.0010 Msun, R1=0.2534+/-0.0019 Rsun, and R2=0.2396+/-0.0015 Rsun. With relative uncertainties well below the 1% level, these values constitute the most accurate properties to date for fully convective stars. This makes CM Dra a valuable benchmark for testing theoretical models. In comparing our measurements with theory, we confirm the discrepancies reported previously for other low-mass eclipsing binaries. These discrepancies seem likely to be due to the effects of magnetic activity. We find that the orbit of this system is slightly eccentric, and we have made use of eclipse timings spanning three decades to infer the apsidal motion and other related properties.