KIC 6464285: A Solar-type Eclipsing Binary in a Hierarchical Triple System with Quasi-periodic Out-of-eclipse Modulations
Abstract
We present the first detailed analysis of the solar-type triple system KIC 6464285. Combining long-term, high-precision photometry from Kepler, TESS, and ZTF with low-resolution spectra from LAMOST and near-infrared high-resolution spectra from SDSS/APOGEE, we performed a joint analysis of the light curves, eclipse timing variations (ETVs), and radial velocities. Spectroscopic analysis reveals the system to be triple-lined, with the inner binary's primary being a G-type main-sequence star and a mass ratio of . Light curve modeling indicates that the inner binary is detached, with filling factors of approximately 26\% and 11\% for the primary and secondary, respectively, and a tertiary light contribution of about 27\%. ETV analysis shows a significant light-travel-time effect (LTTE), consistent with the presence of the tertiary companion, whose minimum mass is estimated as . The light curve exhibits a pronounced O'Connell effect and quasi-periodic variations, indicative of starspot activity modulating the photometry on a 131-day timescale. Kepler observations further reveal 30 superflares, each with total energies exceeding erg. This study presents detailed observational constraints on the orbital configuration, stellar properties, and magnetic activity of KIC 6464285, providing a benchmark for studies of hierarchical triple systems.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2607.18811,
title = {KIC 6464285: A Solar-type Eclipsing Binary in a Hierarchical Triple System with Quasi-periodic Out-of-eclipse Modulations},
author = {Fang-Bin Meng and Li-Ying Zhu and Sheng-Bang Qian and Ildar Asfandiyarov and Azizbek Matekov and Jaqsiliq Baltamuratov and Wen-Ping Liao and A-Li Luo and Wen Hou and Ping Li and Lin-Jia Li and Er-Gang Zhao and Jia-Jia He},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.18811},
year = {2026}
}