Discovery of WINERED-HVS1: A metal-rich hyper-velocity star candidate ejected from the Galactic center

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Hattori, Kohei, Taniguchi, Daisuke, Tsujimoto, Takuji, Matsunaga, Noriyuki, Sameshima, Hiroaki, Elgueta, Scarlet S., Otsubo, Shogo
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Hattori, Kohei
Taniguchi, Daisuke
Tsujimoto, Takuji
Matsunaga, Noriyuki
Sameshima, Hiroaki
Elgueta, Scarlet S.
Otsubo, Shogo
author_facet Hattori, Kohei
Taniguchi, Daisuke
Tsujimoto, Takuji
Matsunaga, Noriyuki
Sameshima, Hiroaki
Elgueta, Scarlet S.
Otsubo, Shogo
contents We report the discovery of a metal-rich red giant star, WINERED-HVS1, which is a candidate for a hyper-velocity star (HVS). Its past trajectory suggests that this star may have been ejected by the Galactic supermassive black hole (SMBH; Sgr A*), with a modest ejection velocity of at least $500\; \mathrm{km\;s^{-1}}$. Since WINERED-HVS1 is gravitationally bound to the Milky Way and is not necessarily young, it is not an unambiguous HVS candidate from a kinematic perspective, unlike the previously confirmed A-type main-sequence HVS known as S5-HVS1. Therefore, the chemical characterization of this star is essential for understanding its origin. Through a spectroscopic follow-up observation with Magellan/WINERED, we determined its metallicity $\mathrm{[Fe/H]}=-0.147^{+0.046}_{-0.045}$, as well as the abundances for Na, Mg, Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, and Sr. The high metallicity value suggests that this star was ejected from the Galactic center and is unlikely to be a halo star with a radial orbit. The abundance pattern of this star -- including the pattern of [$α$/Fe], [Mg/Fe], [Si/Mg], and [Ca/Mg] -- is consistent with that of the nuclear star cluster surrounding the SMBH, further supporting our view. This discovery opens a new window to look through the Galactic center environment without the hindrance of dust extinction, by using the HVSs moving in the halo region where dust extinction is minimal.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_20266
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Discovery of WINERED-HVS1: A metal-rich hyper-velocity star candidate ejected from the Galactic center
Hattori, Kohei
Taniguchi, Daisuke
Tsujimoto, Takuji
Matsunaga, Noriyuki
Sameshima, Hiroaki
Elgueta, Scarlet S.
Otsubo, Shogo
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We report the discovery of a metal-rich red giant star, WINERED-HVS1, which is a candidate for a hyper-velocity star (HVS). Its past trajectory suggests that this star may have been ejected by the Galactic supermassive black hole (SMBH; Sgr A*), with a modest ejection velocity of at least $500\; \mathrm{km\;s^{-1}}$. Since WINERED-HVS1 is gravitationally bound to the Milky Way and is not necessarily young, it is not an unambiguous HVS candidate from a kinematic perspective, unlike the previously confirmed A-type main-sequence HVS known as S5-HVS1. Therefore, the chemical characterization of this star is essential for understanding its origin. Through a spectroscopic follow-up observation with Magellan/WINERED, we determined its metallicity $\mathrm{[Fe/H]}=-0.147^{+0.046}_{-0.045}$, as well as the abundances for Na, Mg, Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, and Sr. The high metallicity value suggests that this star was ejected from the Galactic center and is unlikely to be a halo star with a radial orbit. The abundance pattern of this star -- including the pattern of [$α$/Fe], [Mg/Fe], [Si/Mg], and [Ca/Mg] -- is consistent with that of the nuclear star cluster surrounding the SMBH, further supporting our view. This discovery opens a new window to look through the Galactic center environment without the hindrance of dust extinction, by using the HVSs moving in the halo region where dust extinction is minimal.
title Discovery of WINERED-HVS1: A metal-rich hyper-velocity star candidate ejected from the Galactic center
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.20266