File(s) under permanent embargo
The low-mass white dwarf companion to β Crateris
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 14:42 authored by Burleigh, MR, Barstow, MA, Schenker, KJ, Sills, AI, Wynn, GA, Dobbie, PD, Good, SAWe present FUSE H Lyman series spectroscopy of the hot white dwarf companion to the 4th magnitude A1 III star β Crt, which shows that it has an unusually low mass, MWD = 0.43 M⊙, and has almost certainly evolved through binary interaction. This system could be a long-sought remnant of Algol-type evolution, although radial velocity measurements appear to show that the pair are not close. Instead, micro-variations in the proper motion of β Crt as measured by Hipparcos suggest that the period could be as high as ∼10 yr. However, a low-mass white dwarf in a system with a period ≳3 yr is difficult to explain by conventional models for binary evolution. We speculate on alternative models for the evolution of this system which involve an eccentric binary or multiple components.
History
Publication title
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVolume
327Issue
4Pagination
1158-1164ISSN
0035-8711Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
Blackwell Publishing LtdPlace of publication
9600 Garsington Rd, Oxford, England, Oxon, Ox4 2DgRights statement
Copyright 2001 RAS, MNRAS.Repository Status
- Restricted