Eclipsing Binaries in Dynamically Interacting Close, Multiple Systems

TL;DR

This paper reviews the discovery, observational methods, and dynamical analysis of eclipsing binaries in close, hierarchical multiple star systems, highlighting their importance for understanding stellar interactions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the history, detection techniques, and dynamical implications of eclipsing binaries within multiple star systems.

Findings

Systematic detection methods have advanced understanding of multiple star dynamics.

Eclipsing binaries serve as precise probes of stellar interactions.

Observational data reveal complex long-term dynamical behaviors.

Abstract

Close, compact, hierarchical, multiple stellar systems, i.e., multiples having an outer orbital period from months to a few years, comprise a small, but continuously growing group of the triple and multiple star zoo. Many of them consist of at least one eclipsing pair of stars and, therefore, exhibit readily observable short-term dynamical interactions among the components. Thus, their dynamical and astrophysical properties can be explored with high precision. In this paper we present an overview of the history of the search for additional components around eclipsing binaries from the first serendipitous discoveries to more systematic recent studies. We describe the different observational detection methods and discuss their connections to the different kinds of astrophysical and dynamical information that can be mined from the different datasets. Moreover, the connection amongst the observable phenomena and the long-term dynamics of such systems is also discussed.