High-Precision Multi-Period Analysis of the Ellipsoidal Variable Candidate TIC~470127886 from TESS Photometry

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed, high-precision photometric analysis of TIC 470127886, revealing complex multi-periodic variability consistent with an ellipsoidal binary, using extensive TESS data over nearly three years.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed characterization of TIC 470127886, identifying multiple significant periods and modeling its variability as an ellipsoidal binary candidate with high confidence.

Findings

Identified three significant periods at approximately 5.55, 5.80, and 8.87 days.

Confirmed the variability is consistent with tidal distortion in a close binary system.

Validated the signal's authenticity and ruled out contamination from nearby stars.

Abstract

We present the first detailed photometric characterization of TIC 470127886, a previously unstudied multi-periodic variable star discovered in TESS photometry. Analysis of 145,374 high-cadence observations spanning 696 days (944-day baseline, 2023 January-2024 October) across 10 sectors (60, 59, 58, 53, 52, 73, 86, 79, 78, 85) reveals complex periodic variability with a primary period of 5.544527 +/- 0.004307 days and false alarm probability 1.47 x 10^-87. Lomb-Scargle analysis identifies three significant periods at 5.545, 5.801, and 8.874 days with amplitudes of 15,702, 12,772, and 12,670 ppm. The phase-folded light curve shows smooth, sinusoidal morphology consistent with ellipsoidal variation from tidal distortion in a close binary, with no eclipse features. A three-component sinusoidal model, appropriate for ellipsoidal variables, provides excellent fit quality. Validation tests confirm signal authenticity and persistence, and systematic checks verify no contamination from nearby stars (>3 mag fainter). We classify TIC 470127886 as an ellipsoidal variable candidate with 0.70 confidence, with multi-period behavior suggesting additional variability mechanisms beyond tidal distortion. This work demonstrates high-precision characterization of complex multi-periodic variables in TESS photometry.