Discovery of the most compact 3+1-type quadruple star system TIC 120362137
Hierarchical multiple stellar systems with short outer periods comprise an important subgroup of multiple star systems. In this paper we present the discovery and spectro-photodynamical analysis of the most compact known 3+1 quadruple stellar system, TIC 120362137. Through investigations of the observations made with the TESS satellite and ground-based follow up measurements, we find that the system consists of an eclipsing binary with a few-day-period that in turn eclipses, and is eclipsed by, a third star on a P<sub>mid</sub> = 51.3 d orbit. This inner subsystem, which contains three stars that are more massive and hotter than the Sun, is more spatially compact than Mercury's orbit around our Sun, and is orbited by a fourth Sun-like star with a period P<sub>out</sub> = 1046 d. We detect the spectral lines of all four stars, making this system the most thoroughly studied 3+1 type quadruple stellar system. The future evolution of TIC 120362137 is also modeled, and we conclude that this entire system will likely end up as a pair of white dwarfs.
Authors
- J. Kolář
- Z. Garai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-2016)
- I Bíró (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9061-2147)
- Tom G. Kaye
- Z. Dencs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9878-7953)
- P. Zasche (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9383-7704)
- Veselin B. Kostov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9786-1031)
- R. Uhlář
- P. Cagaš (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7302-3188)
- István Csányi
- Theo Pribulla
- Saul Rappaport
- Martin Mašek
- Tibor Mitnyan
- Donát R. Czavalinga
- Guillermo Torres
- Hai-Liang Chen
- Hana Kučáková
- Tamás Borkovits
- Zbyněk Henzl
- Brian P. Powell
Institutions
- Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
- Magyar Agrár- és Élettudományi Egyetem (HU)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Universidad Politécnica de Baja California (MX)
- Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- University of Szeged (HU)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Astronomical Institute (CZ)
- Yunnan Observatories (CN)
- Konkoly Observatory (HU)
- Silesian University in Opava (CZ)
- Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (PT)
- Clinica Sierra Vista (US)
- Eötvös József Főiskola (HU)
- FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ)
- Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
- Institute of Theoretical Physics (CN)
- HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (HU)
- Yunnan Institute of Environmental Sciences (CN)
- Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- Astronomical Observatory (RS)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-03-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69223-4
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 23.83
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- California Institute of Technology
- Slovenská Akadémia Vied
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- European Space Agency
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja
- Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV
- Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem
- Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal
- Szegedi Tudományegyetem
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Science Mission Directorate
- National Research, Development and Innovation Office