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Register a new userBG Gem - a Poorly-Studied Binary with a Possible Black Hole Component
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Added by
Anatoly Miroshnichenko
Publication date
2013
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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BG Gem is an eclipsing binary with a 91.6-day orbital period. The more massive primary component does not seem to show absorption lines in the spectrum, while the less massive secondary is thought to be a K-type star, possibly a supergiant. These results were obtained with optical low-resolution spectroscopy and photometry. The primary was suggested to be a black hole, although with a low confidence. We present a high-resolution optical spectrum of the system along with new BVR-photometry. Analysis of the spectrum shows that the K-type star rotates rapidly at v sin i = 18 km/s compared to most evolved stars of this temperature range. We also discuss constraints on the secondarys luminosity using spectroscopic criteria and on the entire system parameters using both the spectrum and photometry.
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Quasars have long been known to be variable sources at all wavelengths. Their optical variability is stochastic, can be due to a variety of physical mechanisms, and is well-described statistically in terms of a damped random walk model. The recent availability of large collections of astronomical time series of flux measurements (light curves) offers new data sets for a systematic exploration of quasar variability. Here we report on the detection of a strong, smooth periodic signal in the optical variability of the quasar PG 1302-102 with a mean observed period of 1,884 $pm$ 88 days. It was identified in a search for periodic variability in a data set of light curves for 247,000 known, spectroscopically confirmed quasars with a temporal baseline of $sim9$ years. While the interpretation of this phenomenon is still uncertain, the most plausible mechanisms involve a binary system of two supermassive black holes with a subparsec separation. Such systems are an expected consequence of galaxy mergers and can provide important constraints on models of galaxy formation and evolution.
We report the results of spectroscopic and photometric observations of the emission-line object AS 386. For the first time, we found that it exhibits the B[e] phenomenon and fits the definition of an FS CMa type object. The optical spectrum shows the presence of a B-type star with the following properties: T_ eff = 11000+/-500 K, log L/L_sun = 3.7+/-0.3, a mass of 7+/-1 M_sun, and a distance D = 2.4+/-0.3 kpc from the Sun. We detected regular radial velocity variations of both absorption and emission lines with the following orbital parameters: P_orb = 131.27+/-0.09 days, semi-amplitude K_1 = 51.7+/-3.0 km/s, systemic radial velocity gamma = -31.8+/-2.6 km/s, and a mass function of f(m) = 1.9+/-0.3 M_sun. AS 386 exhibits irregular variations of the optical brightness (V=10.92+/-0.05 mag), while the near-IR brightness varies up to ~0.3 mag following the spectroscopic period. We explain this behavior by a variable illumination of the dusty disk inner rim by the B-type component. Doppler tomography based on the orbital variations of emission-line profiles shows that the material is distributed near the B-type component and in a circumbinary disk. We conclude that the system has undergone a strong mass transfer that created the circumstellar material and increased the B-type component mass. The absence of any traces of a secondary component, whose mass should be >= 7 M_sun, suggests that it is most likely a black hole.
Two sets of multiple-color ($B, V, R_c, I_c$) light curves of PZ UMa were observed in dependently with the 2.4 meter telescope at the Thai National Observatory and the 1 meter telescope at Yunnan Observatories. The light curves were analyzed with the Wilson-Devinney program and the two sets of light curves produced consistent results, which show that PZ UMa is a W-subtype contact binary with an extreme mass ratio ($M_{1}/M_{2} = 0.18)$. The basic physical parameters of PZ UMa were determined to be $M_{2} = 0.77(2)M_odot$, $M_{1} = 0.14(1)M_odot$, $R_{2} = 0.92(1)R_odot$, $R_{1} = 0.43(1)R_odot$, $L_{2} = 0.46(2)L_odot$ and $L_{1} = 0.15(3)L_odot$. The orbital period analysis of PZ UMa revealed a 13.22 year periodicity, which implies that there may be a tertiary component orbiting around the binary system. The mass and orbital radius of the tertiary component were calculated to be $M_{3} = 0.88 M_odot$ and $a_{3} = 3.67 AU$, if the orbit was coplanar with the central binary system. It is interesting that the minimum mass of the tertiary was calculated to be $M_{3min} = 0.84 M_odot$, which means the tertiary component is even larger than the primary star and the secondary one of PZ UMa. PZ UMa is a late-type contact binary with stellar activity. The OConnell effect appeared on its light curves when it was observed on April 2016. However, the OConnell effect reversed when the target was observed again on December 2016. The changes of the OConnell effect in such a short time-scale strongly support the occurrence of rapidly changing magnetic activity on this W UMa binary.
Despite recent progress in numerical simulations of the coalescence of binary black hole systems, highly asymmetric spinning systems and the construction of accurate physical templates remain challenging and computationally expensive. We explore the feasibility of a prompt and robust test of whether the signals exhibit evidence for generic features that can educate new simulations. We form catalogs of numerical relativity waveforms with distinct physical effects and compute the relative probability that a gravitational wave signal belongs to each catalog. We introduce an algorithm designed to perform this task for coalescence signals using principal component analysis of waveform catalogs and Bayesian model selection and demonstrate its effectiveness.
Several dozen optical echelle spectra demonstrate that HR 6819 is a hierarchical triple. A classical Be star is in a wide orbit with an unconstrained period around an inner 40 d binary consisting of a B3 III star and an unseen companion in a circular orbit. The radial-velocity semi-amplitude of 61.3 km/s of the inner star and its minimum (probable) mass of 5.0 Msun (6.3 +- 0.7 Msun) imply a mass of the unseen object of >= 4.2 Msun (>= 5.0 +- 0.4 Msun), that is, a black hole (BH). The spectroscopic time series is stunningly similar to observations of LB-1. A similar triple-star architecture of LB-1 would reduce the mass of the BH in LB-1 from ~70 Msun to a level more typical of Galactic stellar remnant BHs. The BH in HR 6819 probably is the closest known BH to the Sun, and together with LB-1, suggests a population of quiet BHs. Its embedment in a hierarchical triple structure may be of interest for models of merging double BHs or BH + neutron star binaries. Other triple stars with an outer Be star but without BH are identified; through stripping, such systems may become a source of single Be stars.
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