The white dwarf binary pathways survey - IX. Three long period white dwarf plus subgiant binaries

Virtually all binaries consisting of a white dwarf with a non-degenerate companion can be classified as either close post-interaction systems (with orbital periods of a few days or less), or wide systems (with periods longer than decades), in which both components have effectively evolved as single...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Parsons, Steven G., Hernandez, Stephania, Toloza, Odette, Zorotovic, Mónica, Schreiber, Mathias R., Gänsicke, Boris T., Lagos, Felipe, Raddi, Roberto|||0000-0002-9090-9191, Rebassa Mansergas, Alberto|||0000-0002-6153-7173, Ren, Juanjuan, Koester, Detlev
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/446865
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/446865
https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac3368
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:White dwarf binaries
Orbital periods
Common envelope evolution
Subgiant companions
Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy
Low mass white dwarfs
Hierarchical triple system
Stable mass transfer
Binary mergers
Compact binary formation.
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica
Descripción
Sumario:Virtually all binaries consisting of a white dwarf with a non-degenerate companion can be classified as either close post-interaction systems (with orbital periods of a few days or less), or wide systems (with periods longer than decades), in which both components have effectively evolved as single stars. Binaries with periods between these two extremes can help constrain common envelope efficiency, or highlight alternative pathways towards the creation of compact binaries. To date such binaries have remained mostly elusive. Here we present three white dwarfs in binaries with evolved subgiant stars with orbital periods of 41, 52, and 461¿d. Using Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy we find that all three systems contain low mass white dwarfs (=0.4¿M¿). One system, TYC¿8394-1331-1, is the inner binary of a hierarchical triple, where the white dwarf plus subgiant binary is orbited by a more distant companion star. These binaries were likely formed from a phase of stable but non-conservative mass transfer, as opposed to common envelope evolution. All three systems will undergo a common envelope phase in the future, but the two shorter period systems are expected to merge during this event, while the longest period system is likely to survive and create a close binary with two low mass white dwarfs.