Quantifying Light Curve Asymmetries in Eleven Eclipsing Binary Stars

We present light curves for eleven eclipsing binary systems using data collected at the 31-inch NURO telescope at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, in three filters: Bessell B, V, and R. We quantify the asymmetries in these systems by generating a truncated twelve-term Fourier fit for the corresponding light curves. In particular, we calculate the difference ΔI in the heights of the primary and secondary maxima, the “Light Curve Asymmetry” (LCA), and the “O’Connell Effect Ratio” (OER) for each of these systems, in each filter. Finally, we comment on the time evolution and possible causes of these asymmetries by applying our analyses techniques to eclipsing binaries in the Kepler and TESS catalogs.