Southworth, J (2012) Eclipsing Binary Stars: the Royal Road to Stellar Astrophysics. arXiv.org.

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Abstract

Russell (1948) famously described eclipses as the "royal road" to stellar astrophysics. From photometric and spectroscopic observations it is possible to measure the masses and radii (to 1% or better!), and thus surface gravities and mean densities, of stars in eclipsing binary systems using nothing more than geometry. Adding an effective temperature subsequently yields luminosity and then distance (or vice versa) to high precision. This wealth of directly measurable quantities makes eclipsing binaries the primary source of empirical information on the properties of stars, and therefore a cornerstone of stellar astrophysics. In this review paper I summarise the current standing of eclipsing binary research, present an overview of useful analysis techniques, and conclude with a glance to the future.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is the preprint made avilabile online via arXiv at http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.1388 - please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.
Uncontrolled Keywords: astrophysics
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy
Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Faculty of Natural Sciences > School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 22 Apr 2016 15:42
Last Modified: 26 Feb 2021 17:09
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/1644

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