Wide post-common envelope binaries containing ultramassive white dwarfs: evidence for efficient envelope ejection in massive AGB stars

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Main Authors: Yamaguchi, Natsuko, El-Badry, Kareem, Fuller, Jim, Latham, David W., Cargile, Phillip A., Mazeh, Tsevi, Shahaf, Sahar, Bieryla, Allyson, Buchhave, Lars A., Hobson, Melissa
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Yamaguchi, Natsuko
El-Badry, Kareem
Fuller, Jim
Latham, David W.
Cargile, Phillip A.
Mazeh, Tsevi
Shahaf, Sahar
Bieryla, Allyson
Buchhave, Lars A.
Hobson, Melissa
author_facet Yamaguchi, Natsuko
El-Badry, Kareem
Fuller, Jim
Latham, David W.
Cargile, Phillip A.
Mazeh, Tsevi
Shahaf, Sahar
Bieryla, Allyson
Buchhave, Lars A.
Hobson, Melissa
contents Post-common-envelope binaries (PCEBs) containing a white dwarf (WD) and a main-sequence (MS) star can constrain the physics of common envelope evolution and calibrate binary evolution models. Most PCEBs studied to date have short orbital periods ($P_{\rm orb} \lesssim 1\,$d), implying relatively inefficient harnessing of binaries' orbital energy for envelope expulsion. Here, we present follow-up observations of five binaries from {\it Gaia} DR3 containing solar-type MS stars and probable ultramassive WDs ($M\gtrsim 1.2\,M_{\odot}$) with significantly wider orbits than previously known PCEBs, $P_{\rm orb} = 18-49\,$d. The WD masses are much higher than expected for systems formed via stable mass transfer at these periods, and their near-circular orbits suggest partial tidal circularization when the WD progenitors were giants. These properties strongly suggest that the binaries are PCEBs. Forming PCEBs at such wide separations requires highly efficient envelope ejection, and we find that the observed periods can only be explained if a significant fraction of the energy released when the envelope recombines goes into ejecting it. Our 1D stellar models including recombination energy confirm prior predictions that a wide range of PCEB orbital periods, extending up to months or years, can potentially result from Roche lobe overflow of a luminous AGB star. This evolutionary scenario may also explain the formation of several wide WD+MS binaries discovered via self-lensing, as well as a significant fraction of post-AGB binaries and barium stars.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2309_15905
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Wide post-common envelope binaries containing ultramassive white dwarfs: evidence for efficient envelope ejection in massive AGB stars
Yamaguchi, Natsuko
El-Badry, Kareem
Fuller, Jim
Latham, David W.
Cargile, Phillip A.
Mazeh, Tsevi
Shahaf, Sahar
Bieryla, Allyson
Buchhave, Lars A.
Hobson, Melissa
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Post-common-envelope binaries (PCEBs) containing a white dwarf (WD) and a main-sequence (MS) star can constrain the physics of common envelope evolution and calibrate binary evolution models. Most PCEBs studied to date have short orbital periods ($P_{\rm orb} \lesssim 1\,$d), implying relatively inefficient harnessing of binaries' orbital energy for envelope expulsion. Here, we present follow-up observations of five binaries from {\it Gaia} DR3 containing solar-type MS stars and probable ultramassive WDs ($M\gtrsim 1.2\,M_{\odot}$) with significantly wider orbits than previously known PCEBs, $P_{\rm orb} = 18-49\,$d. The WD masses are much higher than expected for systems formed via stable mass transfer at these periods, and their near-circular orbits suggest partial tidal circularization when the WD progenitors were giants. These properties strongly suggest that the binaries are PCEBs. Forming PCEBs at such wide separations requires highly efficient envelope ejection, and we find that the observed periods can only be explained if a significant fraction of the energy released when the envelope recombines goes into ejecting it. Our 1D stellar models including recombination energy confirm prior predictions that a wide range of PCEB orbital periods, extending up to months or years, can potentially result from Roche lobe overflow of a luminous AGB star. This evolutionary scenario may also explain the formation of several wide WD+MS binaries discovered via self-lensing, as well as a significant fraction of post-AGB binaries and barium stars.
title Wide post-common envelope binaries containing ultramassive white dwarfs: evidence for efficient envelope ejection in massive AGB stars
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.15905