ESPRESSO observations of Gaia BH1: high-precision orbital constraints and no evidence for an inner binary

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Nagarajan, Pranav, El-Badry, Kareem, Triaud, Amaury H. M. J., Baycroft, Thomas A., Latham, David, Bieryla, Allyson, Buchhave, Lars A., Rix, Hans-Walter, Quataert, Eliot, Howard, Andrew, Isaacson, Howard, Hobson, Melissa J.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866911972991172608
author Nagarajan, Pranav
El-Badry, Kareem
Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.
Baycroft, Thomas A.
Latham, David
Bieryla, Allyson
Buchhave, Lars A.
Rix, Hans-Walter
Quataert, Eliot
Howard, Andrew
Isaacson, Howard
Hobson, Melissa J.
author_facet Nagarajan, Pranav
El-Badry, Kareem
Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.
Baycroft, Thomas A.
Latham, David
Bieryla, Allyson
Buchhave, Lars A.
Rix, Hans-Walter
Quataert, Eliot
Howard, Andrew
Isaacson, Howard
Hobson, Melissa J.
contents We present high-precision radial velocity (RV) observations of Gaia BH1, the nearest known black hole (BH). The system contains a solar-type G star orbiting a massive dark companion, which could be either a single BH or an inner BH + BH binary. A BH + BH binary is expected in some models where Gaia BH1 formed as a hierarchical triple, which are attractive because they avoid many of the difficulties associated with forming the system through isolated binary evolution. Our observations test the inner binary scenario. We have measured 115 precise RVs of the G star, including 40 from ESPRESSO with a precision of $3$-$5$ m s$^{-1}$, and 75 from other instruments with a typical precision of $30$-$100$ m s$^{-1}$. Our observations span $2.33$ orbits of the G star and are concentrated near a periastron passage, when perturbations due to an inner binary would be largest. The RVs are well-fit by a Keplerian two-body orbit and show no convincing evidence of an inner binary. Using REBOUND simulations of hierarchical triples with a range of inner periods, mass ratios, eccentricities, and orientations, we show that plausible inner binaries with periods $P_{\text{inner}} \gtrsim 1.5$ days would have produced larger deviations from a Keplerian orbit than observed. Binaries with $P_{\text{inner}} \lesssim 1.5$ days are consistent with the data, but these would merge within a Hubble time and would thus imply fine-tuning. We present updated parameters of Gaia BH1's orbit. The RVs yield a spectroscopic mass function $f\left(M_{\text{BH}}\right)=3.9358 \pm 0.0002\,M_{\odot}$ - about $7000σ$ above the $\sim2.5\,M_{\odot}$ maximum neutron star mass. Including the inclination constraint from Gaia astrometry, this implies a BH mass of $M_{\text{BH}} = 9.27 \pm 0.10 ~ M_{\odot}$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_05313
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle ESPRESSO observations of Gaia BH1: high-precision orbital constraints and no evidence for an inner binary
Nagarajan, Pranav
El-Badry, Kareem
Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.
Baycroft, Thomas A.
Latham, David
Bieryla, Allyson
Buchhave, Lars A.
Rix, Hans-Walter
Quataert, Eliot
Howard, Andrew
Isaacson, Howard
Hobson, Melissa J.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present high-precision radial velocity (RV) observations of Gaia BH1, the nearest known black hole (BH). The system contains a solar-type G star orbiting a massive dark companion, which could be either a single BH or an inner BH + BH binary. A BH + BH binary is expected in some models where Gaia BH1 formed as a hierarchical triple, which are attractive because they avoid many of the difficulties associated with forming the system through isolated binary evolution. Our observations test the inner binary scenario. We have measured 115 precise RVs of the G star, including 40 from ESPRESSO with a precision of $3$-$5$ m s$^{-1}$, and 75 from other instruments with a typical precision of $30$-$100$ m s$^{-1}$. Our observations span $2.33$ orbits of the G star and are concentrated near a periastron passage, when perturbations due to an inner binary would be largest. The RVs are well-fit by a Keplerian two-body orbit and show no convincing evidence of an inner binary. Using REBOUND simulations of hierarchical triples with a range of inner periods, mass ratios, eccentricities, and orientations, we show that plausible inner binaries with periods $P_{\text{inner}} \gtrsim 1.5$ days would have produced larger deviations from a Keplerian orbit than observed. Binaries with $P_{\text{inner}} \lesssim 1.5$ days are consistent with the data, but these would merge within a Hubble time and would thus imply fine-tuning. We present updated parameters of Gaia BH1's orbit. The RVs yield a spectroscopic mass function $f\left(M_{\text{BH}}\right)=3.9358 \pm 0.0002\,M_{\odot}$ - about $7000σ$ above the $\sim2.5\,M_{\odot}$ maximum neutron star mass. Including the inclination constraint from Gaia astrometry, this implies a BH mass of $M_{\text{BH}} = 9.27 \pm 0.10 ~ M_{\odot}$.
title ESPRESSO observations of Gaia BH1: high-precision orbital constraints and no evidence for an inner binary
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.05313