CoRoT 223992193: A new, low-mass, pre-main sequence eclipsing binary with evidence of a circumbinary disk
Abstract
We present the discovery of CoRoT 223992193, a double-lined, detached eclipsing binary, comprising two pre-main sequence M dwarfs, discovered by the CoRoT space mission during a 23-day observation of the 3 Myr old NGC 2264 star-forming region. Using multi-epoch optical and near-IR follow-up spectroscopy with FLAMES on the Very Large Telescope and ISIS on the William Herschel Telescope we obtain a full orbital solution and derive the fundamental parameters of both stars by modelling the light curve and radial velocity data. The orbit is circular and has a period of 3.8745745 ± 0.0000014 days. The masses and radii of the two stars are 0.67 ± 0.01 and 0.495 ± 0.007 M⊙ and 1.30 ± 0.04 and 1.11-0.05+0.04 R⊙, respectively. This system is a useful test of evolutionary models of young low-mass stars, as it lies in a region of parameter space where observational constraints are scarce; comparison with these models indicates an apparent age of ~3.5-6 Myr. The systemic velocity is within 1σ of the cluster value which, along with the presence of lithium absorption, strongly indicates cluster membership. The CoRoT light curve also contains large-amplitude, rapidly evolving out-of-eclipse variations, which are difficult to explain using starspots alone. The system's spectral energy distribution reveals a mid-infrared excess, which we model as thermal emission from a small amount of dust located in the inner cavity of a circumbinary disk. In turn, this opens up the possibility that some of the out-of-eclipse variability could be due to occultations of the central stars by material located at the inner edge or in the central cavity of the circumbinary disk. The CoRoT space mission was developed and is operated by the French space agency CNES, with participation of ESAs RSSD and Science Programmes, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, and Spain.
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