Possible substellar companions in low-mass eclipsing binaries: GU Bootis and YY Geminorum

Abstract

We present the next results of our long-term observational project to analyze the variations in the orbital periods of low-mass eclipsing binaries. About 70 new precise mid-eclipse times recorded with a CCD were obtained for two eclipsing binaries with short orbital periods: GU Boo ( P = 0.​ d 49) and YY Gem (0.​ d 81). Observed-minus-calculated diagrams of the stars were analyzed using all reliable timings, and new parameters of the light-time effect were obtained. We derived for the first time or improved the short orbital periods of possible third bodies of 11 and 54 years for these low-mass binaries, respectively. We calculated that the minimum masses of the third components are close to 50 M Jup , which corresponds to the mass of brown dwarfs. The multiplicity of these systems also plays an important role in the precise determination of their physical parameters.