Characterizing cool giants in symbiotic binaries using the Gaia EDR3 data

Symbiotic stars are interacting binaries consisting of an evolved, cool giant that is transferring mass to a hot companion - a white dwarf or rarely a neutron star. The presence of both ionized and neutral regions in their surroundings, interacting winds, jets, accretion disks, or dust forming regions make them extraordinary astrophysical laboratories for studying various aspects of interaction and evolution in binary systems. Although recent surveys discovered several dozens of new symbiotic variables, their careful analysis and deriving the parameters of the components of these systems are needed in order to understand the mechanisms of their interactions and evolution. Our New Online Database of Symbiotic Variables can serve as a basis for statistical studies of the characteristics of the symbiotic population. As presented in this contribution, Gaia observations made public in the Gaia EDR3 and impatiently awaited in subsequent releases could be very suitable for this purpose considering the Gaia satellite can provide data obtained uniformly for the entire sample.