Eclipsing binaries hiding in the background: the Kepler Pixel Project.

Abstract

The aim of the Kepler Pixel Project is to discover new pulsating and other types of variable stars in the individual pixels of the original Kepler mission. In the framework of the project, 1272 eclipsing binary candidates were identified in the background pixels. After eliminating false positives and those stars that are already present in the Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog, we were left with 776 new eclipsing binaries. This is a substantial and significant addition to the 2922 eclipsing binaries present in the catalog. We present the methods we applied, examine the 4-year (Q1-Q17) light curves of selected newly found variable stars. The applied methods are automatic, therefore they can be used in the future to explore the vast amounts of data produced by other space missions (e.g. TESS, later PLATO).