We measure the binarity of detached M-dwarfs in the Kepler field with orbital periods in the range of 1–90 days . Kepler ’ s photometric precision and nearly continuous monitoring of stellar targets over time baselines ranging from 3 months to 4 years make its detection efficiency for eclipsing binaries nearly complete over this period range and for all radius ratios .
Our investigation employs a statistical framework akin to that used for inferring planetary occurrence rates from planetary transits .
The obvious simplification is that eclipsing binaries have a vastly improved detection efficiency that is limited chiefly by their geometric probabilities to eclipse .
For the M-dwarf sample observed by the Kepler Mission , the fractional incidence of eclipsing binaries implies that there are 0.11 ^ { +0.02 } _ { -0.04 } close stellar companions per apparently single M-dwarf .
Our measured binarity is higher than previous inferences of the occurrence rate of close binaries via radial velocity techniques , at roughly the 2 \sigma level .
This study represents the first use of eclipsing binary detections from a high quality transiting planet mission to infer binary statistics .
Application of this statistical framework to the eclipsing binaries discovered by future transit surveys will establish better constraints on short-period M + M binary rate , as well as binarity measurements for stars of other spectral types .

Keywords : stars : binaries : eclipsing – stars : binaries : close – stars : low-mass – methods : observational – methods : statistical – techniques : photometric