Transit-timing measurements with the model-independent barycenter method: application to the LHS 6343 system^⋆

M. Oshagh^1,2, G. Boué¹, N. Haghighipour³, M. Montalto¹, P. Figueira¹ and N. C. Santos^1,2

¹ Centro de Astrofísica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
e-mail: moshagh@astro.up.pt
² Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
³ Institute for Astronomy and NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of Hawaii-Manoa, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

Received: 15 September 2011
Accepted: 7 February 2012

Abstract

We present a model-independent technique for calculating the time of mid-transits. This technique, named “barycenter method”, uses the light-curve’s symmetry to determine the transit timing by calculating the transit light-curve barycenter. Unlike the other methods of calculating mid-transit timing, this technique does not depend on the parameters of the system and central star. We demonstrate the capabilities of the barycenter method by applying this technique to some known transiting systems including several Kepler confirmed planets. Results indicate that for complete and symmetric transit lightcurves, the barycenter method achieves the same precision as other techniques, but with fewer assumptions and much faster. Among the transiting systems studied with the barycenter method, we focus in particular on LHS 6343C, a brown dwarf that transits a member of an M+M binary system, LHS 6343AB. We present the results of our analysis, which can be used to set an upper limit on the period and mass of a possible second small perturber.