THE DOUBLE-DEGENERATE NUCLEUS OF THE PLANETARY NEBULA TS 01: A CLOSE BINARY EVOLUTION SHOWCASE

Journal Article · Sat May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/714/1/178· OSTI ID:21448942

Tovmassian, Gagik; Richer, Michael G ^[1]; Yungelson, Lev ^[2]; Rauch, Thomas; Suleimanov, Valery ^[3]; Napiwotzki, Ralf ^[4]; Stasinska, Grazyna ^[5]; Tomsick, John ^[6]; Wilms, Joern ^[7]; Morisset, Christophe; Pena, Miriam ^[8]

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1. Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apdo. Postal 877, Ensenada, Baja California 22800 (Mexico)
2. Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 48 Pyatnitskaya Str., 119017 Moscow (Russian Federation)
3. Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Kepler Center for Astro and Particle Physics, Eberhard Karls University, Sand 1, 72076 Tuebingen (Germany)
4. Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL109AB (United Kingdom)
5. LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Universite Paris Diderot, Place Jules Janssen 92190 Meudon (France)
6. Space Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States)
7. Dr. Karl Remeis-Observatory, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Sternwartstrasse 7, 96049 Bamberg (Germany)
8. Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apdo. Postal 70264, Mexico D.F. 04510 (Mexico)

We present a detailed investigation of SBS 1150+599A, a close binary star hosted by the planetary nebula PN G135.9+55.9 (TS 01). The nebula, located in the Galactic halo, is the most oxygen-poor known to date and is the only one known to harbor a double degenerate core. We present XMM-Newton observations of this object, which allowed the detection of the previously invisible component of the binary core, whose existence was inferred so far only from radial velocity (RV) and photometric variations. The parameters of the binary system were deduced from a wealth of information via three independent routes using the spectral energy distribution (from the infrared to X-rays), the light and RV curves, and a detailed model atmosphere fitting of the stellar absorption features of the optical/UV component. We find that the cool component must have a mass of 0.54 {+-} 0.2 M{sub sun}, an average effective temperature, T{sub eff}, of 58,000 {+-} 3000 K, a mean radius of 0.43 {+-} 0.3 R{sub sun}, a gravity, log g = 5.0 {+-} 0.3, and that it nearly fills its Roche lobe. Its surface elemental abundances are found to be: 12 + log He/H = 10.95 {+-} 0.04 dex, 12 + log C/H = 7.20 {+-} 0.3 dex, 12 + log N/H < 6.92, and 12 + log O/H < 6.80, in overall agreement with the chemical composition of the planetary nebula. The hot component has T{sub eff} = 160-180 kK, a luminosity of about {approx}10{sup 4} L{sub sun} and a radius slightly larger than that of a white dwarf. It is probably bloated and heated as a result of intense accretion and nuclear burning on its surface in the past. The total mass of the binary system is very close to the Chandrasekhar limit. This makes TS 01 one of the best Type Ia supernova progenitor candidates. We propose two possible scenarios for the evolution of the system up to its present stage.

• OSTI ID: 21448942
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 714, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/714/1/178; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ABSORPTION
ABUNDANCE
BINARY STARS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ENERGY SPECTRA
GRAVITATION
LUMINOSITY
OXYGEN
PLANETARY NEBULAE
RADIAL VELOCITY
ROCHE EQUIPOTENTIALS
STAR EVOLUTION
WHITE DWARF STARS
DWARF STARS
ELEMENTS
EVOLUTION
NEBULAE
NONMETALS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POTENTIALS
SORPTION
SPECTRA
STARS
VELOCITY