KIC 8262223: A Post-Mass Transfer Eclipsing Binary Consisting of a Delta Scuti Pulsator and a Helium White Dwarf Precursor

TL;DR

This paper studies KIC 8262223, an eclipsing binary with a pulsating primary star and a low-mass secondary, revealing its evolutionary history as a post-mass transfer system with unique pulsation characteristics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of a post-mass transfer binary with a Delta Scuti pulsator, combining Kepler photometry, spectroscopy, and binary evolution modeling.

Findings

Secondary is a helium white dwarf precursor.

Primary's pulsations are radial and non-radial pressure modes.

System evolution aligns with non-conservative binary evolution models.

Abstract

KIC~8262223 is an eclipsing binary with a short orbital period ($P=1.61$ d). The {\it Kepler} light curves are of Algol-type and display deep and partial eclipses, ellipsoidal variations, and pulsations of Delta Scuti type. We analyzed the {\it Kepler} photometric data, complemented by phase-resolved spectra from the R-C Spectrograph on the 4-meter Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and determined the fundamental parameters of this system. The low mass and oversized secondary ($M_2=0.20M_{\odot}$, $R_2=1.31R_{\odot}$) is the remnant of the donor star that transferred most of its mass to the gainer, and now the primary star. The current primary star is thus not a normal $\delta$ Scuti star but the result of mass accretion from a lower mass progenitor. We discuss the possible evolutionary history and demonstrate with the MESA evolution code that the system can be understood as the result of non-conservative binary evolution similar to that for the formation of EL CVn type binaries. The pulsations of the primary star can be explained as radial and non-radial pressure modes. The equilibrium models from single star evolutionary tracks can match the observed mass and radius ($M_1=1.94M_{\odot}$, $R_1=1.67R_{\odot}$) but the predicted unstable modes associated with these models differ somewhat from those observed. This work presents a preliminary asteroseismic analysis of the abnormal Delta Scuti pulsators, and we discuss the need for better theoretical understanding of such pulsating mass gaining stars.