Lagos, F., Schreiber, M.R., Parsons, S.G. orcid.org/0000-0002-2695-2654 et al. (2 more authors) (2020) Most EL CVn systems are inner binaries of hierarchical triples. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 499 (1). L121- L125. ISSN 1745-3925
Abstract
In spite of their importance for modern astronomy, we do not fully understand how close binary stars containing at least one white dwarf form from main sequence binary stars. The discovery of EL CVn binaries, close pre-white dwarfs with A/F main sequence star companions, offers now the unique possibility to test models of close compact binary star formation. Binary evolution theories predict that these EL CVn stars descend from very close main sequence binaries with orbital periods shorter than 3 days. If this is correct, nearly all EL CVn stars should be inner binaries of hierarchical triples because more than 95 per cent of very close main sequence binaries (the alleged progenitor systems) are found to be hierarchical triples. We here present SPHERE/IRDIS observations of five EL CVn binaries, finding in all of them tertiary objects, as predicted. We conclude that EL CVn systems are inner binaries of hierarchical triples and indeed descend from very close main sequence binaries that experience stable mass transfer.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | binaries: close; white dwarfs; stars: evolution |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL ST/R003424/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Oct 2020 09:00 |
Last Modified: | 26 Jan 2022 13:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/mnrasl/slaa164 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:166457 |