X-Ray and Ultraviolet Observations of the Eclipsing Binary V471 Tauri with XMM-Newton: X-Ray-Cycles, Eclipse Timings and Further Evidence of a Substellar Tertiary Companion

Abstract

Few stars offer as much toward understanding fundamental aspects of stellar astrophysics and binary star evolution than the eclipsing binary V471 Tauri (DAZ+K2V; P = 12.52 hr). V471 Tauri (Tau) is the product of common-envelope binary evolution and a pre-cataclysmic variable. X-ray and UV (291 nm) observations were secured with XMM-Newton over ~ 62 ks during 2019 September. X-ray and UV photometry show variations over the binary's orbit as well as flares. A precise eclipse timing was obtained from the UV photometry with the Optical Monitor. The timing was added to prior measures and fit with a 35.6 yr Light-Travel-Time-Effect (LTTE) Keplerian orbit of a substellar, tentative brown dwarf companion. However, this companion was not detected by VLT/SPHERE. The LTTE third-body solution appears reliable, now covering ~50 yr of timings. The non-detection of the companion may be due to changes in its physical properties during the high-mass loss common envelope stage.