A comprehensive study of $\delta$ Scuti-type pulsators in eclipsing binaries: oscillating eclipsing Algols

TL;DR

This paper analyzes five eclipsing binary systems with $ ext{delta}$ Scuti pulsators using TESS photometry and spectroscopy, revealing their evolutionary history and the effects of mass transfer on their stellar properties.

Contribution

It provides a detailed characterization of five oscillating eclipsing Algol binaries and insights into their mass transfer history through combined observational and evolutionary modeling.

Findings

Systems underwent case A or B mass transfer.

Primary stars are repositioned in the HR diagram and pulsate as $ ext{delta}$ Scuti.

Secondary stars are underluminous, inflated, and fill their Roche lobes.

Abstract

Eclipsing double-lined spectroscopic binaries hosting $\delta$ Scuti-type pulsators offer a unique laboratory for simultaneously constraining stellar geometry and interior structure. In this study, we present a comprehensive analysis of five oscillating eclipsing Algol binaries. By combining high-precision, short-cadence TESS photometry with multi-epoch high-resolution spectroscopy, we derive precise stellar and orbital parameters. Frequency power spectra were obtained using residuals from binary modelling. We further investigate the evolutionary history of these systems using a grid of MESA binary evolution simulations. Our analysis suggests that the systems must have undergone either case A or case B mass transfer, with the primary components repositioned in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and now pulsating in the $\delta$ Scuti regime, while the cooler secondaries are underluminous and inflated, filling their Roche lobes. This study contributes to the growing catalog of well-characterised oEA systems and our understanding of the effects of mass-transfer on the fate of these short-period binaries.