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Abstract We present the discovery of two quadruple star systems—TIC 285853156 and TIC 392229331—each consisting of two bound eclipsing binary stars. Among the most compact quadruples known, TIC 392229331 and TIC 285853156 have the second and third shortest outer orbital periods (145 days and 152 days, respectively) after BU Canis Minoris (122 days). We demonstrate that both systems are long-term dynamically stable despite substantial outer orbital eccentricities (0.33 for TIC 285853156 and 0.56 for TIC 392229331). We previously reported these systems in V. B. Kostov et al. and V. B Kostov et al. as 2 + 2 hierarchical quadruple candidates producing two sets of primary and secondary eclipses in TESS data, as well as prominent eclipse timing variations on both binary components. We combine all available TESS data and new spectroscopic observations into a comprehensive photodynamical model, proving that the component binary stars are gravitationally bound in both systems and finding accurate stellar and orbital parameters for both systems, including very precise determinations of the outer periods. TIC 285853156 and TIC 392229331 represent the latest addition to the small population of well-characterized proven quadruple systems dynamically interacting on detectable timescales. 

Abstract Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), critical for studying cosmic expansion, arise from thermonuclear explosions of white dwarfs, but their precise progenitor pathways remain unclear. Growing evidence supports the “double-degenerate scenario,” where two white dwarfs interact. The absence of nondegenerate companions capable of explaining the observed SN Ia rate, along with observations of hypervelocity white dwarfs, interpreted as surviving companions of such systems, provide compelling evidence for this scenario. Upcoming millihertz gravitational-wave observatories like the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) are expected to detect thousands of double-degenerate systems, though the most compact known candidate SN Ia progenitors produce marginally detectable signals. Here, we report observations of ATLAS J1138-5139, a binary white dwarf system with an orbital period of just 28 minutes. Our analysis reveals a 1M_☉carbon–oxygen white dwarf accreting from a high-entropy helium-core white dwarf. Given its mass, the accreting carbon–oxygen white dwarf is poised to trigger a typical-luminosity SN Ia within a few million years, to evolve into a stably transferring AM Canum Venaticorum (or AM CVn) system, or undergo a merger into a massive white dwarf. ATLAS J1138-5139 provides a rare opportunity to calibrate binary evolution models by directly comparing observed orbital parameters and mass-transfer rates closer to merger than any known SN Ia progenitor. Its compact orbit ensures detectability by LISA, demonstrating the potential of millihertz gravitational-wave observatories to reveal a population of SN Ia progenitors on a Galactic scale, paving the way for multimessenger studies offering insights into the origins of these cosmologically significant explosions. 

Abstract The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has surveyed nearly the entire sky in full-frame image mode with a time resolution of 200 s to 30 minutes and a temporal baseline of at least 27 days. In addition to the primary goal of discovering new exoplanets, TESS is exceptionally capable at detecting variable stars, and in particular short-period eclipsing binaries, which are relatively common, making up a few percent of all stars, and represent powerful astrophysical laboratories for deep investigations of stellar formation and evolution. We combed Sectors 1–82 of the TESS full-frame image data searching for eclipsing binary stars using a neural network that identified ∼1.2 million stars with eclipse-like features. Of these, we have performed an in-depth analysis on ∼60,000 targets using automated methods and manual inspection by citizen scientists. Here we present a catalog of 10,001 uniformly vetted and validated eclipsing binary stars that passed all our ephemeris and photocenter tests, as well as complementary visual inspection. Of these, 7936 are new eclipsing binaries while the remaining 2065 are known systems for which we update the published ephemerides. We outline the detection and analysis of the targets, discuss the properties of the sample, and highlight potentially interesting systems. Finally, we also provide a list of ∼900,000 unvetted and unvalidated targets for which the neural network found eclipse-like features with a score higher than 0.9, and for which there are no known eclipsing binaries within a sky-projected separation of a TESS pixel (≈21″). 

Abstract We report the discovery of three ultracompact binary white dwarf systems hosting accretion disks, with orbital periods of 7.95, 8.68, and 13.15 minutes. This significantly augments the population of mass-transferring binaries at the shortest periods, and provides the first evidence that accretors in ultracompacts can be dense enough to host accretion disks even below 10 minutes (where previously only direct-impact accretors were known). In the two shortest-period systems, we measured changes in the orbital periods driven by the combined effect of gravitational-wave emission and mass transfer. We find $\dot{P}$is negative in one case, and positive in the other. This is only the second system measured with a positive $\dot{P}$, and it is the most compact binary known that has survived a period minimum. Using these systems as examples, we show how the measurement of $\dot{P}$is a powerful tool in constraining the physical properties of binaries, e.g., the mass and mass–radius relation of the donor stars. We find that the chirp masses of ultracompact binaries at these periods seem to cluster around ${\mathcal{M}}_c\sim 0.3M_{\odot }$, perhaps suggesting a common origin for these systems or a selection bias in electromagnetic discoveries. Our new systems are among the highest-amplitude known gravitational-wave sources in the millihertz regime, providing an exquisite opportunity for multimessenger study with future space-based observatories such as LISA and TianQin. We discuss how such systems provide fascinating laboratories to study the unique regime where the accretion process is mediated by gravitational waves. 

Abstract We present follow-up photometry and spectroscopy of ZTF J0328−1219, strengthening its status as a white dwarf exhibiting transiting planetary debris. Using TESS and Zwicky Transient Facility photometry, along with follow-up high-speed photometry from various observatories, we find evidence for two significant periods of variability at 9.937 and 11.2 hr. We interpret these as most likely the orbital periods of different debris clumps. Changes in the detailed dip structures within the light curves are observed on nightly, weekly, and monthly timescales, reminiscent of the dynamic behavior observed in the first white dwarf discovered to harbor a disintegrating asteroid, WD 1145+017. We fit previously published spectroscopy along with broadband photometry to obtain new atmospheric parameters for the white dwarf, with M_⋆= 0.731 ± 0.023 M_⊙,T_eff= 7630 ± 140 K, and [Ca/He] = − 9.55 ± 0.12. With new high-resolution spectroscopy, we detect prominent and narrow Na D absorption features likely of circumstellar origin, with velocities 21.4 ± 1.0 km s⁻¹ blueshifted relative to atmospheric lines. We attribute the periodically modulated photometric signal to dusty effluents from small orbiting bodies such as asteroids or comets, but we are unable to identify the most likely material that is being sublimated, or otherwise ejected, as the environmental temperatures range from roughly 400 to 700 K.