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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Different to the core: The pre-supernova structures of massive single and binary-stripped stars

The majority of massive stars live in binary or multiple systems and will interact with a companion during their lifetimes, which helps to explain the observed diversity of core-collapse supernovae. Donor stars in binary systems can lose most of their hydrogen-rich envelopes through mass transfer. As a result, not only are the surface properties affected, but so is the core structure. However, most calculations of the core-collapse properties of massive stars rely on single-star models. We present a systematic study of the difference between the pre-supernova structures of single stars and stars of the same initial mass (11–21 M ⊙ ) that have been stripped due to stable post-main-sequence mass transfer at solar metallicity. We present the pre-supernova core composition with novel diagrams that give an intuitive representation of the isotope distribution. As shown in previous studies, at the edge of the carbon-oxygen core, the binary-stripped star models contain an extended gradient of carbon, oxygen, and neon. This layer remains until core collapse and is more extended in mass for higher initial stellar masses. It originates from the receding of the convective helium core during core helium burning in binary-stripped stars, which does not occur in single-star models. We find that this same evolutionary phase leads to systematic differences in the final density and nuclear energy generation profiles. Binary-stripped star models have systematically higher total masses of carbon at the moment of core collapse compared to single-star models, which likely results in systematically different supernova yields. In about half of our models, the silicon-burning and oxygen-rich layers merge after core silicon burning. We discuss the implications of our findings for the “explodability”, supernova observations, and nucleosynthesis of these stars. Our models are publicly available and can be readily used as input for detailed supernova simulations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Orbital motion in pre-main sequence binaries

We present results from our ongoing program to map the visual orbits of pre-main sequence (PMS) binaries in the Taurus star forming region using adaptive optics imaging at the Keck Observatory. We combine our results with measurements reported in the literature to analyze the orbital motion for each binary. We present preliminary orbits for DF Tau, T Tau S, ZZ Tau, and the Pleiades binary HBC 351. Seven additional binaries show curvature in their relative motion. Currently, we can place lower limits on the orbital periods for these systems; full solutions will be possible with more orbital coverage. Five other binaries show motion that is indistinguishable from linear motion. We suspect that these systems are bound and might show curvature with additional measurements in the future. The observations reported herein lay critical groundwork toward the goal of measuring precise masses for low-mass PMS stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

NSVS4484038, A contact binary system at the short-period cutoff

We present a photometric study of the short-period eclipsing binary NSVS4484038. Time-series CCD photometry of the star in the B and V band was carried out. An orbital period of 0.218551 days was determined for the eclipsing binary and a revised linear ephemeris was given. The first photometric solution of the binary system was detected through light-curve synthesis using the Wilson-Devinney method. It reveals an overcontact configuration for the system with a filling-out factor of about 10%. The mass ratio was determined to be 2.74 with an inclination of 72.°1. The less massive secondary component is found to have a higher surface temperature than the primary by about 90 K, indicating that NSVS4484038 could be a contact system of W subtype. The star is then identified to be a new member of W UMa systems at the short-period cutoff. Comparisons with known contact binaries at the short-period cutoff, the properties, and the evolutionary status of the binary system are discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

WW Geminorum: An early B-type eclipsing binary evolving into the contact phase

WW Gem is a B-type eclipsing binary with a period of 1.2378 days. The CCD photometry of this binary was performed in 2013 December using the 85 cm telescope at the Xinglong Stations of the National Astronomical Observatories of China. Using the updated W-D program, the photometric model was deduced from the VRI light curves. The results imply that WW Gem is a near-contact eclipsing binary whose primary component almost fills its Roche lobe. The photometric mass ratio is q {sub ph} = 0.48(± 0.05). All collected times of minimum light, including two new ones, were used for the period studies. The orbital period changes of WW Gem could be described by an upward parabola, possibly overlaid by a light-time orbit with a period of P {sub mod} = 7.41(± 0.04) yr and a semi-amplitude of A = 0.0079 days(± 0.0005 days), respectively. This kind of cyclic oscillation may be attributed to the light-travel time effect via the third body. The long-term period increases at a rate of dP/dt = +3.47(±0.04) × 10{sup –8} day yr{sup –1}, which may be explained by the conserved mass transfer from the less massive component to the more massive one. With mass transfer, the massive binary WW Gem may be evolving into a contact binary.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radial velocity curves of ellipsoidal red giant binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Ellipsoidal red giant binaries are close binary systems where an unseen, relatively close companion distorts the red giant, leading to light variations as the red giant moves around its orbit. These binaries are likely to be the immediate evolutionary precursors of close binary planetary nebula and post-asymptotic giant branch and post-red giant branch stars. Due to the MACHO and OGLE photometric monitoring projects, the light variability nature of these ellipsoidal variables has been well studied. However, due to the lack of radial velocity curves, the nature of their masses, separations, and other orbital details has so far remained largely unknown. In order to improve this situation, we have carried out spectral monitoring observations of a large sample of 80 ellipsoidal variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud and we have derived radial velocity curves. At least 12 radial velocity points with good quality were obtained for most of the ellipsoidal variables. The radial velocity data are provided with this paper. Combining the photometric and radial velocity data, we present some statistical results related to the binary properties of these ellipsoidal variables.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

UBVRI analysis of the totally eclipsing extreme mass ratio W UMa binary, GSC 3208 1986

GSC 3208 1986 is an NSVS and TYCHO binary, first observed from 1999 to 2000. It is a W UMa binary with a period of 0.405 days. The present observations were taken in 2012 September and are of high precision, averaging a standard deviation of better than 5 mmag. The amplitude of the light curve is very nearly 0.5 mag yet it undergoes total eclipses. Dominion Astrophysical Observatory spectra give an F3V type (T∼6900 K) for the system, the earliest of the extreme mass ratio W UMa binaries. The linear period determination of 0.4045672 days was calculated with the two sets of epochs available. An early NSVS light curve reveals that the period has been smoothly decreasing over its past 12,000 orbits. The binary may be undergoing sinusoidal oscillations due to the presence of a third body, possibly with a period of 23±3 years. The high inclination of 85° results in a long duration secondary total eclipse, lasting some 49.5 minutes. Findings indicate that GSC 3208 1986 is an immaculate extreme mass ratio, q(m{sub 2}/m{sub 1}) = 0.24, A-type W UMa binary.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

LUT reveals a new mass-transferring semi-detached binary

GQ Dra is a short-period eclipsing binary in a double stellar system that was discovered by Hipparcos. Complete light curves in the UV band were obtained with the Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope in 2014 November and December. Photometric solutions are determined using the W–D (Wilson and Devinney) method. It is discovered that GQ Dra is a classical Algol-type semi-detached binary where the secondary component is filling the critical Roche lobe. An analysis of all available times of minimum light suggests that the orbital period is increasing continuously at a rate of P-dot =+3.48(±0.23)×10{sup −7} days yr{sup −1}. This could be explained by mass transfer from the secondary to the primary, which is in agreement with the semi-detached configuration with a lobe-filling secondary. By assuming a conservation of mass and angular momentum, the mass transfer rate is estimated as m-dot =9.57(±0.63)×10{sup −8} M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}. All of these results reveal that GQ Dra is a mass-transferring semi-detached binary in a double system that was formed from an initially detached binary star. After the massive primary evolves to fill the critical Roche lobe, the mass transfer will be reversed and the binary will evolve into a contact configuration with two sub-giant or giant component stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Herschel OBSERVATIONS OF DUST AROUND THE HIGH-MASS X-RAY BINARY GX 301-2

We aim at characterizing the structure of the gas and dust around the high-mass X-ray binary GX 301-2, a highly obscured X-ray binary hosting a hypergiant (HG) star and a neutron star, in order to better constrain its evolution. We used Herschel PACS to observe GX 301-2 in the far infrared and completed the spectral energy distribution of the source using published data or catalogs from the optical to the radio range (0.4 to 4 × 10{sup 4} μm). GX 301-2 is detected for the first time at 70 and 100 μm. We fitted different models of circumstellar (CS) environments to the data. All tested models are statistically acceptable, and consistent with an HG star at ∼3 kpc. We found that the addition of a free-free emission component from the strong stellar wind is required and could dominate the far-infrared flux. Through comparisons with similar systems and discussion on the estimated model parameters, we favor a disk-like CS environment of ∼8 AU that would enshroud the binary system. The temperature goes down to ∼200 K at the edge of the disk, allowing for dust formation. This disk is probably a rimmed viscous disk with an inner rim at the temperature of the dust sublimation temperature (∼1500 K). The similarities between the HG GX 301-2, B[e] supergiants, and the highly obscured X-ray binaries (particularly IGR J16318-4848) are strengthened. GX 301-2 might represent a transition stage in the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, connecting supergiant B[e] systems to luminous blue variables.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE ORIGIN OF BLACK HOLE SPIN IN GALACTIC LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARIES

Galactic field black hole (BH) low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are believed to form in situ via the evolution of isolated binaries. In the standard formation channel, these systems survived a common envelope phase, after which the remaining helium core of the primary star and the subsequently formed BH are not expected to be highly spinning. However, the measured spins of BHs in LMXBs cover the whole range of spin parameters. We propose here that the BH spin in LMXBs is acquired through accretion onto the BH after its formation. In order to test this hypothesis, we calculated extensive grids of detailed binary mass-transfer sequences. For each sequence, we examined whether, at any point in time, the calculated binary properties are in agreement with their observationally inferred counterparts of 16 Galactic LMXBs. The ''successful'' sequences give estimates of the mass that the BH has accreted since the onset of Roche-Lobe overflow. We find that in all Galactic LMXBs with measured BH spin, the origin of the spin can be accounted for by the accreted matter, and we make predictions about the maximum BH spin in LMXBs where no measurement is yet available. Furthermore, we derive limits on the maximum spin that any BH can have depending on current properties of the binary it resides in. Finally we discuss the implication that our findings have on the BH birth-mass distribution, which is shifted by ∼1.5 M {sub ☉} toward lower masses, compared to the currently observed one.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ON THE BINARY FREQUENCY OF THE LOWEST MASS MEMBERS OF THE PLEIADES WITH HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3

We present the results of a Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) imaging survey of 11 of the lowest mass brown dwarfs in the Pleiades known (25–40 M{sub Jup}). These objects represent the predecessors to T dwarfs in the field. Using a semi-empirical binary point-spread function (PSF)-fitting technique, we are able to probe to 0.″ 03 (0.75 pixel), better than 2x the WFC3/UVIS diffraction limit. We did not find any companions to our targets. From extensive testing of our PSF-fitting method on simulated binaries, we compute detection limits which rule out companions to our targets with mass ratios of ≳0.7 and separations ≳4 AU. Thus, our survey is the first to attain the high angular resolution needed to resolve brown dwarf binaries in the Pleiades at separations that are most common in the field population. We constrain the binary frequency over this range of separation and mass ratio of 25–40 M{sub Jup} Pleiades brown dwarfs to be <11% for 1σ (<26% at 2σ). This binary frequency is consistent with both younger and older brown dwarfs in this mass range.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A disk-based dynamical mass estimate for the young binary AK SCO

We present spatially and spectrally resolved Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of gas and dust in the disk orbiting the pre-main sequence (pre-MS) binary AK Sco. By forward-modeling the disk velocity field traced by CO J = 2–1 line emission, we infer the mass of the central binary, M{sub ∗}=2.49±0.10 M{sub ⊙}, a new dynamical measurement that is independent of stellar evolutionary models. Assuming the disk and binary are co-planar within ∼2°, this disk-based binary mass measurement is in excellent agreement with constraints from radial velocity monitoring of the combined stellar spectra. These ALMA results are also compared with the standard approach of estimating masses from the location of the binary in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, using several common pre-MS model grids. These models predict stellar masses that are marginally consistent with our dynamical measurement (at ∼2σ), but are systematically high (by ∼10%). These same models consistently predict an age of 18 ± 1 Myr for AK Sco, in line with its membership in the Upper Centaurus–Lupus association but surprisingly old for it to still host a gas-rich disk. As ALMA accumulates comparable data for large samples of pre-MS stars, the methodology employed here to extract a dynamical mass from the disk rotation curve should prove extraordinarily useful for efforts to characterize the fundamental parameters of early stellar evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A STRANGE STAR SCENARIO FOR THE FORMATION OF ECCENTRIC MILLISECOND PULSAR/HELIUM WHITE DWARF BINARIES

According to the recycling scenario, millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have evolved from low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Their orbits are expected to be circular due to tidal interactions during binary evolution, as observed in most binary MSPs. There are some peculiar systems that do not fit this picture. Three recent examples are the PSRs J2234+06, J1946+3417, and J1950+2414, all of which are MSPs in eccentric orbits but with mass functions compatible with expected He white dwarf (WD) companions. It has been suggested these MSPs may have formed from delayed accretion-induced collapse of massive WDs, or the eccentricity may be induced by dynamical interaction between the binary and a circumbinary disk. Assuming that the core density of accreting neutron stars (NSs) in LMXBs may reach the density of quark deconfinement, which can lead to phase transition from NSs to strange quark stars, we show that the resultant MSPs are likely to have an eccentric orbit, due to the sudden loss of the gravitational mass of the NS during the transition. The eccentricities can be reproduced with a reasonable estimate of the mass loss. This scenario might also account for the formation of the youngest known X-ray binary Cir X–1, which also possesses a low-field compact star in an eccentric orbit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

EVOLUTION OF A RING AROUND THE PLUTO–CHARON BINARY

We consider the formation of satellites around the Pluto–Charon binary. An early collision between the two partners likely produced the binary and a narrow ring of debris, out of which arose the moons Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. How the satellites emerged from the compact ring is uncertain. Here we show that a particle ring spreads from physical collisions and collective gravitational scattering, similar to migration. Around a binary, these processes take place in the reference frames of “most circular” orbits, akin to circular ones in a Keplerian potential. Ring particles damp to these orbits and avoid destructive collisions. Damping and diffusion also help particles survive dynamical instabilities driven by resonances with the binary. In some situations, particles become trapped near resonances that sweep outward with the tidal evolution of the Pluto–Charon binary. With simple models and numerical experiments, we show how the Pluto–Charon impact ring may have expanded into a broad disk, out of which grew the circumbinary moons. In some scenarios, the ring can spread well beyond the orbit of Hydra, the most distant moon, to form a handful of smaller satellites. If these small moons exist, New Horizons will find them.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF GALACTIC INTERMEDIATE/LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARIES

We investigate the formation and evolutionary sequences of Galactic intermediate- and low-mass X-ray binaries (I/LMXBs) by combining binary population synthesis (BPS) and detailed stellar evolutionary calculations. Using an updated BPS code we compute the evolution of massive binaries that leads to the formation of incipient I/LMXBs and present their distribution in the initial donor mass versus initial orbital period diagram. We then follow the evolution of the I/LMXBs until the formation of binary millisecond pulsars (BMSPs). We find that the birthrate of the I/LMXB population is in the range of 9 × 10{sup −6}–3.4 × 10{sup −5} yr{sup −1}, compatible with that of BMSPs that are thought to descend from I/LMXBs. We show that during the evolution of I/LMXBs they are likely to be observed as relatively compact binaries with orbital periods ≲1 day and donor masses ≲0.3M{sub ⊙}. The resultant BMSPs have orbital periods ranging from less than 1 day to a few hundred days. These features are consistent with observations of LMXBs and BMSPs. We also confirm the discrepancies between theoretical predictions and observations mentioned in the literature, that is, the theoretical average mass transfer rates (∼10{sup −10} M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}) of LMXBs are considerably lower than observed, and the number of BMSPs with orbital periods ∼0.1–10 days is severely underestimated. These discrepancies imply that something is missing in the modeling of LMXBs, which is likely to be related to the mechanisms of the orbital angular momentum loss.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

MERGER RATES OF DOUBLE NEUTRON STARS AND STELLAR ORIGIN BLACK HOLES: THE IMPACT OF INITIAL CONDITIONS ON BINARY EVOLUTION PREDICTIONS

The initial mass function (IMF), binary fraction, and distributions of binary parameters (mass ratios, separations, and eccentricities) are indispensable inputs for simulations of stellar populations. It is often claimed that these are poorly constrained, significantly affecting evolutionary predictions. Recently, dedicated observing campaigns have provided new constraints on the initial conditions for massive stars. Findings include a larger close binary fraction and a stronger preference for very tight systems. We investigate the impact on the predicted merger rates of neutron stars and black holes. Despite the changes with previous assumptions, we only find an increase of less than a factor of 2 (insignificant compared with evolutionary uncertainties of typically a factor of 10–100). We further show that the uncertainties in the new initial binary properties do not significantly affect (within a factor of 2) our predictions of double compact object merger rates. An exception is the uncertainty in IMF (variations by a factor of 6 up and down). No significant changes in the distributions of final component masses, mass ratios, chirp masses, and delay times are found. We conclude that the predictions are, for practical purposes, robust against uncertainties in the initial conditions concerning binary parameters, with the exception of the IMF. This eliminates an important layer of the many uncertain assumptions affecting the predictions of merger detection rates with the gravitational wave detectors aLIGO/aVirgo.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Warping and tearing of misaligned circumbinary disks around eccentric supermassive black hole binaries

We study the warping and tearing of a geometrically thin, non-self-gravitating disk surrounding binary supermassive black holes on an eccentric orbit. The circumbinary disk is significantly misaligned with the binary orbital plane, and is subject to the time-dependent tidal torques. In principle, such a disk is warped and precesses, and is torn into mutually misaligned rings in the region, where the tidal precession torques are stronger than the local viscous torques. We derive the tidal-warp and tearing radii of the misaligned circumbinary disks around eccentric SMBH binaries. We find that in disks with the viscosity parameter α larger than a critical value depending on the disk aspect ratio, the disk warping appears outside the tearing radius. This condition is expressed for small amplitude warps as α > √H/(3r) for H/r∼<0.1, where H is the disk scale height. If α < √H/(3r), only the disk tearing occurs because the tidal warp radius is inside the tearing radius, where most of disk material is likely to rapidly accrete onto SMBHs. In warped and torn disks, both the tidal-warp and the tearing radii most strongly depend on the binary semi-major axis, although they also mildly depend on the other orbital and disk parameters. This strong dependence enables us to estimate the semi-major axis, once the tidal warp or tearing radius is determined observationally: for the tidal warp radius of 0.1 pc, the semi-major axis is estimated to be ∼10{sup −2} pc for 10{sup 7} M{sub ⊙} black hole with typical orbital and disk parameters. We also briefly discuss the possibility that central objects of observed warped maser disks in active galactic nuclei are supermassive black hole binaries.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

PROSPECTS FOR DETECTING ASTEROSEISMIC BINARIES IN KEPLER DATA

Asteroseismology may in principle be used to detect unresolved stellar binary systems comprised of solar-type stars and/or red giants. This novel method relies on the detection of the presence of two solar-like oscillation spectra in the frequency spectrum of a single light curve. Here, we make predictions of the numbers of systems that may be detectable in data already collected by the NASA Kepler Mission. Our predictions, which are based upon TRILEGAL and BiSEPS simulations of the Kepler field of view, indicate that as many as 200 or more ''asteroseismic binaries'' may be detectable in this manner. Most of these binaries should be comprised of two He-core-burning red giants. Owing largely to the limited numbers of targets with the requisite short-cadence Kepler data, we expect only a small number of detected binaries containing solar-type stars. The predicted yield of detections is sensitive to the assumed initial mass ratio distribution (IMRD) of the binary components and therefore represents a sensitive calibration of the much debated IMRD near mass ratio unity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLUTION OF CLOSE BINARY SYSTEMS WITH RADIO PULSARS

We calculate the evolution of close binary systems (CBSs) formed by a neutron star (behaving as a radio pulsar) and a normal donor star, which evolve either to a helium white dwarf (HeWD) or to ultra-short orbital period systems. We consider X-ray irradiation feedback and evaporation due to radio pulsar irradiation. We show that irradiation feedback leads to cyclic mass transfer episodes, allowing CBSs to be observed in between episodes as binary radio pulsars under conditions in which standard, non-irradiated models predict the occurrence of a low-mass X-ray binary. This behavior accounts for the existence of a family of eclipsing binary systems known as redbacks. We predict that redback companions should almost fill their Roche lobe, as observed in PSR J1723-2837. This state is also possible for systems evolving with larger orbital periods. Therefore, binary radio pulsars with companion star masses usually interpreted as larger than expected to produce HeWDs may also result in such quasi-Roche lobe overflow states, rather than hosting a carbon-oxygen WD. We found that CBSs with initial orbital periods of P{sub i} < 1 day evolve into redbacks. Some of them produce low-mass HeWDs, and a subgroup with shorter P{sub i} becomes black widows (BWs). Thus, BWs descend from redbacks, although not all redbacks evolve into BWs. There is mounting observational evidence favoring BW pulsars to be very massive (≳ 2 M {sub ☉}). As they should be redback descendants, redback pulsars should also be very massive, since most of the mass is transferred before this stage.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗