A transiting companion to the eclipsing binary KIC002856960

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a tertiary body in the KIC002856960 eclipsing binary system, with transit-like signals suggesting either a planet or a third star, based on Kepler data analysis.

Contribution

It presents the first detection of a potential circumbinary companion in KIC002856960 using automated analysis of Kepler eclipsing binary data.

Findings

Transit-like features every 204.2 days observed

Duration of tertiary variations is approximately 1.26 days

Possible companion is either a planet or a third star

Abstract

We present an early result from an automated search of Kepler eclipsing binary systems for circumbinary companions. An intriguing tertiary signal has been discovered in the short period eclipsing binary KIC002856960. This third body leads to transit-like features in the light curve occurring every 204.2 days, while the two other components of the system display eclipses on a 6.2 hour period. The variations due to the tertiary body last for a duration of \sim1.26 days, or 4.9 binary orbital periods. During each crossing of the binary orbit with the tertiary body, multiple individual transits are observed as the close binary stars repeatedly move in and out of alignment with the tertiary object. We are at this stage unable to distinguish between a planetary companion to a close eclipsing binary, or a hierarchical triply eclipsing system of three stars. Both possibilities are explored, and the light curves presented.