A Young Eclipsing Binary and its Luminous Neighbors in the Embedded Star Cluster Sh 2-252E

TL;DR

This study analyzes an eccentric eclipsing binary in the young star cluster Sh 2-252E using photometry, spectroscopy, and light curves, revealing the binary's faint nature and characterizing nearby luminous stars.

Contribution

It identifies the binary system as one of the faint nearby stars and provides detailed spectral analysis of the cluster's bright members, enhancing understanding of young star clusters.

Findings

The eclipsing binary is not among the brightest cluster stars.

Spectroscopic data characterizes the bright stars as B0.5 V, Herbig A0, and pre-main sequence stars.

The binary resides among faint stars in the cluster.

Abstract

We present a photometric and light curve analysis of an eccentric eclipsing binary in the K2 Campaign 0 field that resides in Sh 2-252E, a young star cluster embedded in an H II region. We describe a spectroscopic investigation of the three brightest stars in the crowded aperture to identify which is the binary system. We find that none of these stars are components of the eclipsing binary system, which must be one of the fainter nearby stars. These bright cluster members all have remarkable spectra: Sh 2-252a (EPIC 202062176) is a B0.5 V star with razor sharp absorption lines, Sh 2-252b is a Herbig A0 star with disk-like emission lines, and Sh 2-252c is a pre-main sequence star with very red color.