Four Total Eclipsing Contact Binary Systems: The First Photometric Light Curve Solutions Employing TESS and Gaia Surveys

TL;DR

This study presents the first photometric light curve solutions for four W UMa-type contact binary systems using TESS and Gaia data, employing PHOEBE and MCMC methods to determine their physical parameters and classifications.

Contribution

The paper introduces novel light curve solutions for four contact binaries utilizing TESS and Gaia data, with detailed parameter estimation and subtype classification.

Findings

Three systems are low mass ratio contact binaries.

TIC 249064185 required a starspot in the model.

Good agreement with mass-temperature empirical relations.

Abstract

We presented the first photometric light curve solutions of four W Ursae Majoris (W UMa)-type contact binary systems. This investigation utilized photometric data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3). We used the PHysics Of Eclipsing BinariEs (PHOEBE) Python code and the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for these light curve solutions. Only TIC 249064185 among the target systems needed a cold starspot to be included in the analysis. Based on the estimated mass ratios for these total eclipse systems, three of them are categorized as low mass ratio contact binary stars. The absolute parameters of the systems were estimated using the Gaia DR3 parallax method and the orbital period and semi-major axis ($P-a$) empirical relationship. We defined that TIC 318015356 and TIC 55522736 systems are A-subtypes, while TIC 249064185 and TIC 397984843 are W-subtypes, depending on each component's effective temperature and mass. We estimated the initial masses of the stars, the mass lost by the binary system, and the systems' ages. We displayed star positions in the mass-radius, mass-luminosity, and total mass-orbital angular momentum diagrams. In addition, our findings indicate a good agreement with the mass-temperature empirical parameter relationship for the primary stars.