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Main Authors: Stringer, E., Kupfer, T., Deshmukh, K., Maccarone, T., Jackson, I., Kosakowski, A., Bradshaw, C. W., Brown, A., Dorsch, M., Picco, A., Dhillon, V. S., Poshyachinda, S., Awiphan, S.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.03010
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_version_ 1866909013181988864
author Stringer, E.
Kupfer, T.
Deshmukh, K.
Maccarone, T.
Jackson, I.
Kosakowski, A.
Bradshaw, C. W.
Brown, A.
Dorsch, M.
Picco, A.
Dhillon, V. S.
Poshyachinda, S.
Awiphan, S.
author_facet Stringer, E.
Kupfer, T.
Deshmukh, K.
Maccarone, T.
Jackson, I.
Kosakowski, A.
Bradshaw, C. W.
Brown, A.
Dorsch, M.
Picco, A.
Dhillon, V. S.
Poshyachinda, S.
Awiphan, S.
contents Hot subdwarf binaries with white dwarf companions with orbital periods of less than two hours are progenitor candidates for massive single white dwarfs as well as a variety of thermonuclear explosions. Our aim is to determine the binary properties of the hot subdwarf -- white dwarf system ZTF J000742.62+480414.51, model its future evolution, and characterize the brightening events seen in TESS photometry. Using data from ZTF and TESS, we performed a Lomb Scargle analysis to find the orbital period and the period of the brightening events. Analysis of time-resolved spectroscopy was combined with light curve modeling to determine the effective temperature, surface gravity, and radius of the primary star, the masses of both stars, and to confirm the presence of an accretion disk. X-ray observations were performed with Swift, and MESA modeling was used to find the future evolution of the system. The kinematics of the system were also calculated. ZTF J000742.62+480414.51 consists of an accreting $0.48\pm0.01\,M_\odot$ white dwarf with a $0.42\pm0.01\,M_\odot$ B-type hot subdwarf acting as a donor. The system exhibits SU UMa type dwarf nova outbursts with a recurrence time of $P_{\mathrm{out}} \approx 9$ days. No X-rays were detected, with an upper limit on the X-ray luminosity of about $3\times10^{31}$ erg/sec. The system lies in the Galactic thin disk, and has an orbital period of $P_{\mathrm{orb}} = 108.72\pm0.01$ minutes. The system has likely formed from a main sequence binary with component masses $\gtrsim2\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ and will likely merge into a single white dwarf, but a thermonuclear explosion cannot be ruled out. ZTF J000742.62+480414.51 consists of a low mass white dwarf actively accreting hydrogen rich material from a B-type hot subdwarf, and is the first hot subdwarf -- white dwarf system discovered that produces dwarf nova outbursts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_03010
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Discovery of the first outbursting hot subdwarf binary: ZTF J0007+4804
Stringer, E.
Kupfer, T.
Deshmukh, K.
Maccarone, T.
Jackson, I.
Kosakowski, A.
Bradshaw, C. W.
Brown, A.
Dorsch, M.
Picco, A.
Dhillon, V. S.
Poshyachinda, S.
Awiphan, S.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Hot subdwarf binaries with white dwarf companions with orbital periods of less than two hours are progenitor candidates for massive single white dwarfs as well as a variety of thermonuclear explosions. Our aim is to determine the binary properties of the hot subdwarf -- white dwarf system ZTF J000742.62+480414.51, model its future evolution, and characterize the brightening events seen in TESS photometry. Using data from ZTF and TESS, we performed a Lomb Scargle analysis to find the orbital period and the period of the brightening events. Analysis of time-resolved spectroscopy was combined with light curve modeling to determine the effective temperature, surface gravity, and radius of the primary star, the masses of both stars, and to confirm the presence of an accretion disk. X-ray observations were performed with Swift, and MESA modeling was used to find the future evolution of the system. The kinematics of the system were also calculated. ZTF J000742.62+480414.51 consists of an accreting $0.48\pm0.01\,M_\odot$ white dwarf with a $0.42\pm0.01\,M_\odot$ B-type hot subdwarf acting as a donor. The system exhibits SU UMa type dwarf nova outbursts with a recurrence time of $P_{\mathrm{out}} \approx 9$ days. No X-rays were detected, with an upper limit on the X-ray luminosity of about $3\times10^{31}$ erg/sec. The system lies in the Galactic thin disk, and has an orbital period of $P_{\mathrm{orb}} = 108.72\pm0.01$ minutes. The system has likely formed from a main sequence binary with component masses $\gtrsim2\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ and will likely merge into a single white dwarf, but a thermonuclear explosion cannot be ruled out. ZTF J000742.62+480414.51 consists of a low mass white dwarf actively accreting hydrogen rich material from a B-type hot subdwarf, and is the first hot subdwarf -- white dwarf system discovered that produces dwarf nova outbursts.
title Discovery of the first outbursting hot subdwarf binary: ZTF J0007+4804
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.03010