Hertzsprung gap stars in nearby galaxies and the Quest for Luminous Red Novae Progenitors

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Tranin, Hugo, Blagorodnova, Nadejda, Karambelkar, Viraj, Groot, Paul J., Bloemen, Steven, Vreeswijk, Paul M., Pieterse, Daniëlle L. A., van Roestel, Jan
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Tranin, Hugo
Blagorodnova, Nadejda
Karambelkar, Viraj
Groot, Paul J.
Bloemen, Steven
Vreeswijk, Paul M.
Pieterse, Daniëlle L. A.
van Roestel, Jan
author_facet Tranin, Hugo
Blagorodnova, Nadejda
Karambelkar, Viraj
Groot, Paul J.
Bloemen, Steven
Vreeswijk, Paul M.
Pieterse, Daniëlle L. A.
van Roestel, Jan
contents After the main sequence phase, stars more massive than 2.5 M$_\odot$ rapidly evolve through the Hertzsprung gap as yellow giants and supergiants (YSG), before settling into the red giant branch. Identifying YSG in nearby galaxies is crucial for pinpointing progenitors of luminous red novae (LRNe) - astrophysical transients attributed to stellar mergers. In the era of extensive transient surveys like the Vera Rubin Observatory's LSST, this approach offers a new way to predict and select common envelope transients. This study investigates potential progenitors and precursors of LRNe by analysing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry of stellar populations in galaxies within 20 Mpc to identify YSG candidates. Additionally, we use ZTF and MeerLICHT/BlackGEM to identify possible precursors, preparing for future observations by the LSST. We compiled a sample of 369 galaxies with HST exposures in the F475W, F555W, F606W, and F814W filters. We identified YSG candidates using MESA stellar evolution tracks and statistical analysis of color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Our sample includes 154,494 YSG candidates with masses between 3 and 20 $M_\odot$ and is affected by various contaminants, such as foreground stars and extinguished main-sequence stars. After excluding foreground stars using Gaia proper motions, contamination is estimated at 1\% from foreground stars and 20\% from extinction affecting main-sequence stars. Combining our YSG candidates with time-domain catalogs yielded several interesting candidates. Notably, we identified 12 LRN precursor candidates for which followup is encouraged. We highlight the importance of monitoring future transients that match YSG candidates to avoid missing potential LRNe and other rare transients. LSST will be a game changer in the search for LRN progenitors and precursors, discovering over 300,000 new YSG and 100 precursors within 20 Mpc.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_11347
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hertzsprung gap stars in nearby galaxies and the Quest for Luminous Red Novae Progenitors
Tranin, Hugo
Blagorodnova, Nadejda
Karambelkar, Viraj
Groot, Paul J.
Bloemen, Steven
Vreeswijk, Paul M.
Pieterse, Daniëlle L. A.
van Roestel, Jan
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
After the main sequence phase, stars more massive than 2.5 M$_\odot$ rapidly evolve through the Hertzsprung gap as yellow giants and supergiants (YSG), before settling into the red giant branch. Identifying YSG in nearby galaxies is crucial for pinpointing progenitors of luminous red novae (LRNe) - astrophysical transients attributed to stellar mergers. In the era of extensive transient surveys like the Vera Rubin Observatory's LSST, this approach offers a new way to predict and select common envelope transients. This study investigates potential progenitors and precursors of LRNe by analysing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry of stellar populations in galaxies within 20 Mpc to identify YSG candidates. Additionally, we use ZTF and MeerLICHT/BlackGEM to identify possible precursors, preparing for future observations by the LSST. We compiled a sample of 369 galaxies with HST exposures in the F475W, F555W, F606W, and F814W filters. We identified YSG candidates using MESA stellar evolution tracks and statistical analysis of color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Our sample includes 154,494 YSG candidates with masses between 3 and 20 $M_\odot$ and is affected by various contaminants, such as foreground stars and extinguished main-sequence stars. After excluding foreground stars using Gaia proper motions, contamination is estimated at 1\% from foreground stars and 20\% from extinction affecting main-sequence stars. Combining our YSG candidates with time-domain catalogs yielded several interesting candidates. Notably, we identified 12 LRN precursor candidates for which followup is encouraged. We highlight the importance of monitoring future transients that match YSG candidates to avoid missing potential LRNe and other rare transients. LSST will be a game changer in the search for LRN progenitors and precursors, discovering over 300,000 new YSG and 100 precursors within 20 Mpc.
title Hertzsprung gap stars in nearby galaxies and the Quest for Luminous Red Novae Progenitors
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.11347