Kepler Eclipsing Binary Stars. V. Identification of 31 Eclipsing Binaries in the K2 Engineering Data-set

TL;DR

This paper reports the identification of 31 eclipsing binary stars, including 20 new discoveries, from the K2 engineering data-set, demonstrating the potential for eclipsing binary research in the K2 mission.

Contribution

It introduces both manual and automated methods for detecting eclipsing binaries in K2 data and provides a comprehensive catalog of binaries in the engineering dataset.

Findings

Identified 31 eclipsing binaries in K2 data, 20 of which are new.

Demonstrated effective manual and automated detection techniques.

Discussed future prospects for eclipsing binary studies in K2.

Abstract

Over 2500 eclipsing binaries were identified and characterized from the ultra-precise photometric data provided by the Kepler space telescope. Kepler is now beginning its second mission, K2, which is proving to again provide ultra-precise photometry for a large sample of eclipsing binary stars. In the 1951 light curves covering 12 days in the K2 engineering data-set, we have identified and determined the ephemerides for 31 eclipsing binaries that demonstrate the capabilities for eclipsing binary science in the upcoming campaigns in K2. Of those, 20 are new discoveries. We describe both manual and automated approaches to harvesting the complete set of eclipsing binaries in the K2 data, provide identifications and details for the full set of eclipsing binaries present in the engineering data-set, and discuss the prospects for application of eclipsing binary searches in the K2 mission.