KIC 6220497: A New Algol-type Eclipsing Binary with Multiperiodic Pulsations

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and analysis of KIC 6220497 as a semi-detached Algol-type eclipsing binary with multiperiodic pulsations, identifying it as an oscillating eclipsing Algol star with unique pulsation characteristics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of KIC 6220497, revealing its binarity, pulsation modes, and evolutionary status, highlighting its significance as a more evolved oEA star.

Findings

KIC 6220497 is a semi-detached Algol with a primary star showing δ Sct pulsations.

Detected 33 frequencies, including pulsation and tidally excited modes.

The primary star is more evolved with a longer pulsation period and lower surface gravity.

Abstract

We present both binarity and pulsation of KIC 6220497 from the {\it Kepler} observations. The light curve synthesis shows that the eclipsing system is a semi-detached Algol with parameters of $q$ = 0.243$\pm$0.001, $i$ = 77.3$\pm$0.3 deg, and $\Delta T$ = 3,372$\pm$58 K, in which the detached primary component fills its Roche lobe by $\sim$87\%. A multiple frequency analysis of the eclipse-subtracted light residuals reveals 33 frequencies in the range of 0.75$-$20.22 d$^{-1}$ with amplitudes between 0.27 and 4.56 mmag. Among these, four are pulsation frequencies in fundamental ($f_1$, $f_5$) and $p$ ($f_2$, $f_7$) modes, and six are orbital frequency ($f_8$, $f_{31}$) and its harmonics ($f_6$, $f_{11}$, $f_{20}$, $f_{24}$), which can be attributed to tidally excited modes. For the pulsation frequencies, the pulsation constants of 0.16$-$0.33 d and the period ratios of $P_{\rm pul}/P_{\rm orb}$ = 0.042$-$0.089 indicate that the primary component is a $\delta$ Sct pulsating star and, thus, KIC 6220497 is an oscillating eclipsing Algol (oEA) star. The dominant pulsation period of 0.1174051$\pm$0.0000004 d is significantly longer than that expected from empirical relations that link the pulsation period with the orbital period. The surface gravity of $\log g_1$ = 3.78$\pm$0.03 is clearly smaller than those of the other oEA stars with similar orbital periods. The pulsation period and the surface gravity of the pulsating primary demonstrate that KIC 6220497 would be the more evolved EB, compared with normal oEA stars.