FIRST RESULTS FROM THE SWARMS SURVEY. SDSS 1257+5428: A NEARBY, MASSIVE WHITE DWARF BINARY WITH A LIKELY NEUTRON STAR OR BLACK HOLE COMPANION

Journal Article · Sun Dec 20 04:00:00 EST 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/971· OSTI ID:21392606

Badenes, Carles; Mullally, Fergal; Lupton, Robert H ^[1]

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1. Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001 (United States)

We present the first results from the SWARMS survey, an ongoing project to identify compact white dwarf (WD) binaries in the spectroscopic catalog of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The first object identified by SWARMS, SDSS 1257+5428, is a single-lined spectroscopic binary in a circular orbit with a period of 4.56 hr and a semiamplitude of 322.7 +- 6.3 km s{sup -1}. From the spectrum and photometry, we estimate a WD mass of 0.92{sup +0.28}{sub -0.32} M{sub sun}. Together with the orbital parameters of the binary, this implies that the unseen companion must be more massive than 1.62{sup +0.20}{sub -0.25} M{sub sun}, and is in all likelihood either a neutron star or a black hole. At an estimated distance of 48{sup +10}{sub -19} pc, this would be the closest known stellar remnant of a supernova explosion.

• OSTI ID: 21392606
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 707; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
BINARY STARS
BLACK HOLES
CATALOGS
DOCUMENT TYPES
DWARF STARS
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
EXPLOSIONS
MASS
NEUTRON STARS
ORBITS
PHOTOMETRY
SPECTRA
STARS
SUPERNOVAE
VARIABLE STARS
WHITE DWARF STARS