TY - JOUR A1 - Neunteufel, Patrick A1 - Preece, H. A1 - Kruckow, Matthias U. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Hamers, Adrian S. A1 - Justham, S. A1 - Podsiadlowski, Philipp T1 - Properties and applications of a predicted population of runaway He-sdO/B stars ejected from single degenerate He-donor SNe JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. Thermonuclear supernovae (SNe), a subset of which are the highly important SNe of Type Ia and Iax, are relatively poorly understood phenomena. One of the more promising scenarios leading up to the creation of a thermonuclear SN involves accretion of helium-rich material from a binary companion. Following the SN, the binary companion is then ejected from the location of the progenitor binary at velocities possibly large enough to unbind it from the gravitational potential of the Galaxy. Ejected companion stars should form a detectable population, if their production mechanism is not exceedingly rare. Aims. This study builds on previous works, producing the most extensive prediction of the properties of such a hypothetical population to date, taking both Chandrasekhar and non-Chandrasekhar mass events into account. These results are then used to define criteria for membership of this population and characterise putative subpopulations. Methods. This study contains 6 x 10(6) individual ejection trajectories out of the Galactic plane calculated with the stellar kinematics framework SHyRT, which are analysed with regard to their bulk observational properties. These are then put into context with the only previously identified population member US 708 and applied to a number of other possible candidate objects. Results. We find that two additional previously observed objects possess properties to warrant a designation as candidate objects. Characterisation of these object with respect to the predicted population finds all of them to be extreme in at least one astrometric observable. Higher mass ( >0 :7 M-circle dot) objects should be over-represented in the observationally accessible volume, with the ratio of bound to unbound objects being an accessible observable for the determination of the dominant terminal accretor mass. We find that current observations of runaway candidates within 10 kpc support a Galactic SN rate of the order of similar to 3 x 10(-7) yr(-1) to similar to 2 x 10(-6) yr(-1), three orders of magnitude below the inferred Galactic SN Ia rate and two orders of magnitude below the formation rate of predicted He-donor progenitors. Conclusions. The number of currently observed population members suggests that the He-donor scenario, as suspected before, is not a dominant contributor to the number of observed SNe Ia. However, even at the low event rate suggested, we find that the majority of possibly detectable population members is still undetected. The extreme nature of current population members suggests that a still larger number of objects has simply evaded detection up to this point, hinting at a higher contribution than is currently supported by observation. KW - binaries: close KW - stars: kinematics and dynamics KW - stars: distances KW - supernovae: general KW - subdwarfs KW - white dwarfs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202142864 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 663 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Dorsch, Matti A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Gänsicke, Boris A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Kupfer, Thomas A1 - Nemeth, Peter A1 - Scaringi, Simone A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika T1 - Discovery and analysis of three magnetic hot subdwarf stars BT - evidence for merger-induced magnetic fields JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - Magnetic fields can play an important role in stellar evolution. Among white dwarfs, the most common stellar remnant, the fraction of magnetic systems is more than 20 per cent. The origin of magnetic fields in white dwarfs, which show strengths ranging from 40 kG to hundreds of MG, is still a topic of debate. In contrast, only one magnetic hot subdwarf star has been identified out of thousands of known systems. Hot subdwarfs are formed from binary interaction, a process often associated with the generation of magnetic fields, and will evolve to become white dwarfs, which makes the lack of detected magnetic hot subdwarfs a puzzling phenomenon. Here we report the discovery of three new magnetic hot subdwarfs with field strengths in the range 300-500 kG. Like the only previously known system, they are all helium-rich O-type stars (He-sdOs). We analysed multiple archival spectra of the three systems and derived their stellar properties. We find that they all lack radial velocity variability, suggesting formation via a merger channel. However, we derive higher than typical hydrogen abundances for their spectral type, which are in disagreement with current model predictions. Our findings suggest a lower limit to the magnetic fraction of hot subdwarfs of 0.147(+0.143)(-0.047) per cent, and provide evidence for merger-induced magnetic fields which could explain white dwarfs with field strengths of 50-150 MG, assuming magnetic flux conservation. KW - stars: magnetic field KW - subdwarfs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1069 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 515 IS - 2 SP - 2496 EP - 2510 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kupfer, Thomas A1 - Bauer, Evan B. A1 - van Roestel, Jan A1 - Bellm, Eric C. A1 - Bildsten, Lars A1 - Fuller, Jim A1 - Prince, Thomas A. A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Green, Matthew J. A1 - Kulkarni, Shrinivas R. A1 - Bloemen, Steven A1 - Laher, Russ R. A1 - Rusholme, Ben A1 - Schneider, David T1 - Discovery of a Double-detonation Thermonuclear Supernova Progenitor JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters N2 - We present the discovery of a new double-detonation progenitor system consisting of a hot subdwarf B (sdB) binary with a white dwarf companion with a P (orb) = 76.34179(2) minutes orbital period. Spectroscopic observations are consistent with an sdB star during helium core burning residing on the extreme horizontal branch. Chimera light curves are dominated by ellipsoidal deformation of the sdB star and a weak eclipse of the companion white dwarf. Combining spectroscopic and light curve fits, we find a low-mass sdB star, M (sdB) = 0.383 +/- 0.028 M (circle dot) with a massive white dwarf companion, M (WD) = 0.725 +/- 0.026 M (circle dot). From the eclipses we find a blackbody temperature for the white dwarf of 26,800 K resulting in a cooling age of approximate to 25 Myr whereas our MESA model predicts an sdB age of approximate to 170 Myr. We conclude that the sdB formed first through stable mass transfer followed by a common envelope which led to the formation of the white dwarf companion approximate to 25 Myr ago. Using the MESA stellar evolutionary code we find that the sdB star will start mass transfer in approximate to 6 Myr and in approximate to 60 Myr the white dwarf will reach a total mass of 0.92 M (circle dot) with a thick helium layer of 0.17 M (circle dot). This will lead to a detonation that will likely destroy the white dwarf in a peculiar thermonuclear supernova. PTF1 J2238+7430 is only the second confirmed candidate for a double-detonation thermonuclear supernova. Using both systems we estimate that at least approximate to 1% of white dwarf thermonuclear supernovae originate from sdB+WD binaries with thick helium layers, consistent with the small number of observed peculiar thermonuclear explosions. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac48f1 SN - 2041-8205 SN - 2041-8213 VL - 925 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - GEN A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Finch, Nicolle L. A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Barstow, Martin A. A1 - Casewell, Sarah L. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Bertolami Miller, Marcelo Miguel A1 - Taubenberger, Stefan T1 - Revealing the true nature of Hen2-428 T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The nucleus of Hen 2-428 is a short orbital period (4.2 h) spectroscopic binary, whose status as potential supernovae type Ia progenitor has raised some controversy in the literature. We present preliminary results of a thorough analysis of this interesting system, which combines quantitative non-local thermodynamic (non-LTE) equilibrium spectral modelling, radial velocity analysis, multi-band light curve fitting, and state-of-the art stellar evolutionary calculations. Importantly, we find that the dynamical system mass that is derived by using all available He II lines does not exceed the Chandrasekhar mass limit. Furthermore, the individual masses of the two central stars are too small to lead to an SN Ia in case of a dynamical explosion during the merger process. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1129 KW - binaries: spectroscopic KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: abundances KW - Supernovae Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-459703 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1129 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Finch, Nicolle L. A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Barstow, Martin A. A1 - Casewell, Sarah L. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Bertolami Miller, Marcelo Miguel A1 - Taubenberger, Stefan T1 - Revealing the true nature of Hen 2-428 JF - Galaxies N2 - The nucleus of Hen 2-428 is a short orbital period (4.2 h) spectroscopic binary, whose status as potential supernovae type Ia progenitor has raised some controversy in the literature. We present preliminary results of a thorough analysis of this interesting system, which combines quantitative non-local thermodynamic (non-LTE) equilibrium spectral modelling, radial velocity analysis, multi-band light curve fitting, and state-of-the art stellar evolutionary calculations. Importantly, we find that the dynamical system mass that is derived by using all available He II lines does not exceed the Chandrasekhar mass limit. Furthermore, the individual masses of the two central stars are too small to lead to an SN Ia in case of a dynamical explosion during the merger process. KW - binaries: spectroscopic KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: abundances KW - supernovae Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies6030088 SN - 2075-4434 VL - 6 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Culpan, Richard A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Gentile Fusillo, Nicola Pietro A1 - Vorontseva, Alina T1 - The population of hot subdwarf stars studied with Gaia BT - IV. catalogues of hot subluminous stars based on Gaia EDR3 JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - In light of substantial new discoveries of hot subdwarfs by ongoing spectroscopic surveys and the availability of the Gaia mission Early Data Release 3 (EDR3), we compiled new releases of two catalogues of hot subluminous stars: the data release 3 (DR3) catalogue of the known hot subdwarf stars contains 6616 unique sources and provides multi-band photometry, and astrometry from Gaia EDR3 as well as classifications based on spectroscopy and colours. This is an increase of 742 objects over the DR2 catalogue. This new catalogue provides atmospheric parameters for 3087 stars and radial velocities for 2791 stars from the literature. In addition, we have updated the Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) catalogue of hot subluminous stars using the improved accuracy of the Gaia EDR3 data set together with updated quality and selection criteria to produce the Gaia EDR3 catalogue of 61 585 hot subluminous stars, representing an increase of 21 785 objects. The improvements in Gaia EDR3 astrometry and photometry compared to Gaia DR2 have enabled us to define more sophisticated selection functions. In particular, we improved hot subluminous star detection in the crowded regions of the Galactic plane as well as in the direction of the Magellanic Clouds by including sources with close apparent neighbours but with flux levels that dominate the neighbourhood. KW - subdwarfs KW - Hertzsprung-Russell and C-M diagrams KW - binaries: general KW - stars: horizontal-branch KW - catalogs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202243337 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 662 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Filiz, Semih A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Kepler, Souza Oliveira T1 - Mysterious, variable, and extremely hot BT - White dwarfs showing ultra-high excitation lines: I. Photometric variability JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal / European Southern Observatory (ESO) N2 - Context. About 10% of all stars exhibit absorption lines of ultra-highly excited (UHE) metals (e.g., O VIII) in their optical spectra when entering the white dwarf cooling sequence. This is something that has never been observed in any other astrophysical object, and poses a decades-long mystery in our understanding of the late stages of stellar evolution. The recent discovery of a UHE white dwarf that is both spectroscopically and photometrically variable led to the speculation that the UHE lines might be created in a shock-heated circumstellar magnetosphere. Aims. We aim to gain a better understanding of these mysterious objects by studying the photometric variability of the whole population of UHE white dwarfs, and white dwarfs showing only the He II line problem, as both phenomena are believed to be connected. Methods. We investigate (multi-band) light curves from several ground- and space-based surveys of all 16 currently known UHE white dwarfs (including one newly discovered) and eight white dwarfs that show only the He II line problem. Results. We find that 75(-13)(+8) % of the UHE white dwarfs, and 75(-19)(+9)% of the He II line problem white dwarfs are significantly photometrically variable, with periods ranging from 0.22 d to 2.93 d and amplitudes from a few tenths to a few hundredths of a magnitude. The high variability rate is in stark contrast to the variability rate amongst normal hot white dwarfs (we find 9(2)(+4)%), marking UHE and He II line problem white dwarfs as a new class of variable stars. The period distribution of our sample agrees with both the orbital period distribution of post-common-envelope binaries and the rotational period distribution of magnetic white dwarfs if we assume that the objects in our sample will spin-up as a consequence of further contraction. Conclusions. We find further evidence that UHE and He II line problem white dwarfs are indeed related, as concluded from their overlap in the Gaia HRD, similar photometric variability rates, light-curve shapes and amplitudes, and period distributions. The lack of increasing photometric amplitudes towards longer wavelengths, as well as the nondetection of optical emission lines arising from the highly irradiated face of a hypothetical secondary in the optical spectra of our stars, makes it seem unlikely that an irradiated late-type companion is the origin of the photometric variability. Instead, we believe that spots on the surfaces of these stars and/or geometrical effects of circumstellar material might be responsible. KW - white dwarfs KW - stars: variables: general KW - starspots KW - binaries: close Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140289 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 647 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Dorsch, Matti A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Irrgang, Andreas T1 - Radial velocity variability and the evolution of hot subdwarf stars JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Hot subdwarf stars represent a late and peculiar stage in the evolution of low-mass stars, since they are likely formed by close binary interactions. In this work, we perform a radial velocity (RV) variability study of a sample of 646 hot subdwarfs with multi-epoch radial velocities based on spectra from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). The atmospheric parameters and RVs were taken from the literature. For stars with archival spectra but without literature values, we determined the parameters by fitting model atmospheres. In addition, we redetermined the atmospheric parameters and RVs for all the He-enriched sdO/Bs. This broad sample allowed us to study RV-variability as a function of the location in the T-eff - log g- and T-eff - log n(He)/n(H) diagrams in a statistically significant way. We used the fraction of RV-variable stars and the distribution of the maximum RV variations Delta RVmax as diagnostics. Both indicators turned out to be quite inhomogeneous across the studied parameter ranges. A striking feature is the completely dissimilar behaviour of He-poor and He-rich hot subdwarfs. While the former have a high fraction of close binaries, almost no significant RV variations could be detected for the latter. This has led us to the conclusion that there is likely no evolutionary connection between these subtypes. On the other hand, intermediate He-rich- and extreme He-rich sdOB/Os are more likely to be related. Furthermore, we conclude that the vast majority of this population is formed via one or several binary merger channels. Hot subdwarfs with temperatures cooler than similar to 24 000 K tend to show fewer and smaller RV-variations. These objects might constitute a new subpopulation of binaries with longer periods and late-type or compact companions. The RV-variability properties of the extreme horizontal branch (EHB) and corresponding post-EHB populations of the He-poor hot subdwarfs match and confirm the predicted evolutionary connection between them. Stars found below the canonical EHB at somewhat higher surface gravities show large RV variations and a high RV variability fraction. These properties are consistent with most of them being low-mass EHB stars or progenitors of low-mass helium white dwarfs in close binaries. KW - subdwarfs KW - binaries: spectroscopic KW - stars: horizontal-branch Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202143022 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 661 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Casewell, Sarah L. A1 - Schneider, D. A1 - Kilkenny, David A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Irrgang, Andreas A1 - Przybilla, Norbert A1 - Marsh, Thomas R. A1 - Littlefair, Stuart P. A1 - Dhillon, Vik S. T1 - A quantitative in-depth analysis of the prototype sdB plus BD system SDSS J08205+0008 revisited in the Gaia era JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - Subdwarf B stars are core-helium-burning stars located on the extreme horizontal branch (EHB). Extensive mass loss on the red giant branch is necessary to form them. It has been proposed that substellar companions could lead to the required mass loss when they are engulfed in the envelope of the red giant star. J08205+0008 was the first example of a hot subdwarf star with a close, substellar companion candidate to be found. Here, we perform an in-depth re-analysis of this important system with much higher quality data allowing additional analysis methods. From the higher resolution spectra obtained with ESO-VLT/XSHOOTER, we derive the chemical abundances of the hot subdwarf as well as its rotational velocity. Using the Gaia parallax and a fit to the spectral energy distribution in the secondary eclipse, tight constraints to the radius of the hot subdwarf are derived. From a long-term photometric campaign, we detected a significant period decrease of -3.2(8) x 10(-12) dd(-1). This can be explained by the non-synchronized hot subdwarf star being spun up by tidal interactions forcing it to become synchronized. From the rate of period decrease we could derive the synchronization time-scale to be 4 Myr, much smaller than the lifetime on EHB. By combining all different methods, we could constrain the hot subdwarf to a mass of 0.39-0.50 M-circle dot and a radius of R-sdB = 0.194 +/- 0.008 R-circle dot, and the companion to 0.061-0.071 M-circle dot with a radius of R-comp = 0.092 +/- 0.005 R-circle dot, below the hydrogen-burning limit. We therefore confirm that the companion is most likely a massive brown dwarf. KW - stars: abundances KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: fundamental parameters KW - stars: horizontal branch KW - stars: low-mass KW - subdwarfs Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3661 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 501 IS - 3 SP - 3847 EP - 3870 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neunteufel, Patrick A1 - Kruckow U., Matthias A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Hamers, Adrian S. T1 - Predicted spatial and velocity distributions of ejected companion stars of helium accretion-induced thermonuclear supernovae JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context Thermonuclear supernovae (SNe), a subset of which are the highly important SNe Type Ia, remain one of the more poorly understood phenomena known to modern astrophysics. In recent years, the single degenerate helium (He) donor channel, where a white dwarf star accretes He-rich matter from a hydrogen-depleted companion, has emerged as a promising candidate progenitor scenario for these events. An unresolved question in this scenario is the fate of the companion star, which would be evident as a runaway hot subdwarf O/B stars (He sdO/B) in the aftermath of the SN event. Aims Previous studies have shown that the kinematic properties of an ejected companion provide an opportunity to closer examine the properties of an SN progenitor system. However, with the number of observed objects not matching predictions by theory, the viability of this mechanism is called into question. In this study, we first synthesize a population of companion stars ejected by the aforementioned mechanism, taking into account predicted ejection velocities, the inferred population density in the Galactic mass distribution, and subsequent kinematics in the Galactic potential. We then discuss the astrometric properties of this population. Methods We present 10(6) individual ejection trajectories, which were numerically computed with a newly developed, lightweight simulation framework. Initial conditions were randomly generated, but weighted according to the Galactic mass density and ejection velocity data. We then discuss the bulk properties (Galactic distribution and observational parameters) of our sample. Results Our synthetic population reflects the Galactic mass distribution. A peak in the density distribution for close objects is expected in the direction of the Galactic centre. Higher mass runaways should outnumber lower mass ones. If the entire considered mass range is realised, the radial velocity distribution should show a peak at 500 km s(-1). If only close US 708 analogues are considered, there should be a peak at (similar to 750-850) km s(-1). In either case, US 708 should be a member of the high-velocity tail of the distribution. Conclusions We show that the puzzling lack of confirmed surviving companion stars of thermonuclear SNe, though possibly an observation-related selection effect, may indicate a selection against high mass donors in the SD He donor channel. KW - stars: kinematics and dynamics KW - binaries: close KW - supernovae: general KW - subdwarfs Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202040022 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 646 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Klaus A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Dorsch, Matti A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Munari, Ulisse A1 - Raddi, Roberto T1 - Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium spectral analysis of five hot, hydrogen-deficient pre-white dwarfs JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics N2 - Hot, compact, hydrogen-deficient pre-white dwarfs (pre-WDs) with effective temperatures of Teff > 70 000 K and a surface gravity of 5.0 < logg < 7.0 are rather rare objects despite recent and ongoing surveys. It is believed that they are the outcome of either single star evolution (late helium-shell flash or late helium-core flash) or binary star evolution (double WD merger). Their study is interesting because the surface elemental abundances reflect the physics of thermonuclear flashes and merger events. Spectroscopically they are divided in three different classes, namely PG1159, O(He), or He-sdO. We present a spectroscopic analysis of five such stars that turned out to have atmospheric parameters in the range Teff = 70 000-80 000 K and logg = 5.2-6.3. The three investigated He-sdOs have a relatively high hydrogen mass fraction (10%) that is unexplained by both single (He core flash) and binary evolution (He-WD merger) scenarios. The O(He) star JL 9 is probably a binary helium-WD merger, but its hydrogen content (6%) is also at odds with merger models. We found that RL 104 is the 'coolest' (Teff = 80 000 K) member of the PG1159 class in a pre-WD stage. Its optical spectrum is remarkable because it exhibits C※ IV lines involving Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers up to n = 22. Its rather low mass (0.48-0.02+0.03 M·) is difficult to reconcile with the common evolutionary scenario for PG1159 stars due to it being the outcome of a (very) late He-shell flash. The same mass-problem faces a merger model of a close He-sdO plus CO WD binary that predicts PG1159-like abundances. Perhaps RL 104 originates from a very late He-shell flash in a CO/He WD formed by a merger of two low-mass He-WDs. KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: abundances KW - stars: evolution KW - subdwarfs KW - white dwarfs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202142397 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 658 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geier, Stephan T1 - The population of hot subdwarf stars studied with Gaia BT - III. catalogue of known hot subdwarf stars : data release JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - In light of substantial new discoveries of hot subdwarfs by ongoing spectroscopic surveys and the availability of new all-sky data from ground-based photometric surveys and the Gaia mission Data Release 2, we compiled an updated catalogue of the known hot subdwarf stars. The catalogue contains 5874 unique sources including 528 previously unknown hot subdwarfs and provides multi-band photometry, astrometry from Gaia, and classifications based on spectroscopy and colours. This new catalogue provides atmospheric parameters of 2187 stars and radial velocities of 2790 stars from the literature. Using colour, absolute magnitude, and reduced proper motion criteria, we identified 268 previously misclassified objects, most of which are less luminous white dwarfs or more luminous blue horizontal branch and main-sequence stars. KW - subdwarfs KW - stars: horizontal-branch KW - catalogs Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202037526 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 635 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Barlow, Brad N. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Kupfer, Thomas T1 - Hot subdwarfs in close binaries observed from space I. BT - orbital, atmospheric, and absolute parameters and the nature of their companions JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context: About a third of the hot subdwarfs of spectral type B (sdBs), which are mostly core-helium-burning objects on the extreme horizontal branch, are found in close binaries with cool, low-mass stellar, substellar, or white dwarf companions. They can show light variations due to di fferent phenomena. Aims: Many hot subdwarfs now have space-based light curves with a high signal-to-noise ratio available. We used light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the K2 space mission to look for more sdB binaries. Their light curves can be used to study the hot subdwarf primaries and their companions, and obtained orbital, atmospheric, and absolute parameters for those systems, when combined with other analysis methods. Methods: By classifying the light variations and combining these with the fit of the spectral energy distribution, the distance derived by the parallaxes obtained by Gaia, and the atmospheric parameters, mainly from the literature, we could derive the nature of the primaries and secondaries in 122 (75%) of the known sdB binaries and 82 newly found reflection e ffect systems. We derived absolute masses, radii, and luminosities for a total of 39 hot subdwarfs with cool, low-mass companions, as well 29 known and newly found sdBs with white dwarf companions. Results: The mass distribution of hot subdwarfs with cool, low-mass stellar and substellar companions, di ffers from those with white dwarf companions, implying they come from di fferent populations. By comparing the period and minimum companion mass distributions, we find that the reflection e ffect systems all have M dwarf or brown dwarf companions, and that there seem to be several di fferent populations of hot subdwarfs with white dwarf binaries - one with white dwarf minimum masses around 0.4 M-circle dot, one with longer periods and minimum companion masses up to 0.6 M-circle dot, and at the shortest period, another with white dwarf minimum masses around 0.8 M-circle dot. We also derive the first orbital period distribution for hot subdwarfs with cool, low-mass stellar or substellar systems selected from light variations instead of radial velocity variations. It shows a narrower period distribution, from 1.5 h to 35 h, compared to the distribution of hot subdwarfs with white dwarfs, which ranges from 1 h to 30 days. These period distributions can be used to constrain the previous common-envelope phase. KW - binaries: close KW - subdwarfs KW - white dwarfs KW - stars: late-type KW - stars: KW - horizontal-branch KW - stars: fundamental parameters Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244214 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 666 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Vos, Joris A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Baran, Andrzej S. T1 - Alone but not lonely BT - observational evidence that binary interaction is always required to form hot subdwarf stars JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. Hot subdwarfs are core-helium burning stars that show lower masses and higher temperatures than canonical horizontal branch stars. They are believed to be formed when a red giant suffers an extreme mass-loss episode. Binary interaction is suggested to be the main formation channel, but the high fraction of apparently single hot subdwarfs (up to 30%) has prompted single star formation scenarios to be proposed.Aims. We investigate the possibility that hot subdwarfs could form without interaction by studying wide binary systems. If single formation scenarios were possible, there should be hot subdwarfs in wide binaries that have undergone no interaction.Methods. Angular momentum accretion during interaction is predicted to cause the hot subdwarf companion to spin up to the critical velocity. The effect of this should still be observable given the timescales of the hot subdwarf phase. To study the rotation rates of companions, we have analysed light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite for all known hot subdwarfs showing composite spectral energy distributions indicating the presence of a main sequence wide binary companion. If formation without interaction were possible, that would also imply the existence of hot subdwarfs in very wide binaries that are not predicted to interact. To identify such systems, we have searched for common proper motion companions with projected orbital distances of up to 0.1 pc to all known spectroscopically confirmed hot subdwarfs using Gaia DR2 astrometry.Results. We find that the companions in composite hot subdwarfs show short rotation periods when compared to field main sequence stars. They display a triangular-shaped distribution with a peak around 2.5 days, similar to what is observed for young open clusters. We also report a shortage of hot subdwarfs with candidate common proper motion companions. We identify only 16 candidates after probing 2938 hot subdwarfs with good astrometry. Out of those, at least six seem to be hierarchical triple systems, in which the hot subdwarf is part of an inner binary.Conclusions. The observed distribution of rotation rates for the companions in known wide hot subdwarf binaries provides evidence of previous interaction causing spin-up. Additionally, there is a shortage of hot subdwarfs in common proper motion pairs, considering the frequency of such systems among progenitors. These results suggest that binary interaction is always required for the formation of hot subdwarfs. KW - subdwarfs KW - binaries: general KW - stars: variables: general Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038473 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 642 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Irrgang, Andreas A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Kreuzer, Simon A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid Domingos A1 - Heber, Ulrich T1 - A stripped helium star in the potential black hole binary LB-1 JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context The recently claimed discovery of a massive (M-BH = 68(-13)(+11) M-circle dot) black hole in the Galactic solar neighborhood has led to controversial discussions because it severely challenges our current view of stellar evolution. Aims A crucial aspect for the determination of the mass of the unseen black hole is the precise nature of its visible companion, the B-type star LSV +22 25. Because stars of different mass can exhibit B-type spectra during the course of their evolution, it is essential to obtain a comprehensive picture of the star to unravel its nature and, thus, its mass. Methods To this end, we study the spectral energy distribution of LSV +22 25 and perform a quantitative spectroscopic analysis that includes the determination of chemical abundances for He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, and Fe. Results Our analysis clearly shows that LSV +22 25 is not an ordinary main sequence B-type star. The derived abundance pattern exhibits heavy imprints of the CNO bi-cycle of hydrogen burning, that is, He and N are strongly enriched at the expense of C and O. Moreover, the elements Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, and Fe are systematically underabundant when compared to normal main-sequence B-type stars. We suggest that LSV +22 25 is a stripped helium star and discuss two possible formation scenarios. Combining our photometric and spectroscopic results with the Gaia parallax, we infer a stellar mass of 1.1 +/- 0.5 M-circle dot. Based on the binary system's mass function, this yields a minimum mass of 2-3 M-circle dot for the compact companion, which implies that it may not necessarily be a black hole but a massive neutron- or main sequence star. Conclusions The star LSV +22 25 has become famous for possibly having a very massive black hole companion. However, a closer look reveals that the star itself is a very intriguing object. Further investigations are necessary for complete characterization of this object. KW - stars: abundances KW - stars: chemically peculiar KW - stars: early-type KW - pulsars: individual: LS V+22 25 Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201937343 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 633 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Culpan, Rick A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid A1 - Geier, Stephan T1 - Clean catalogues of blue horizontal-branch stars using Gaia EDR3 JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal / European Southern Observatory (ESO) N2 - Context. Blue horizontal-branch stars evolve from low-mass stars that have completed their main-sequence lifetimes and undergone a helium flash at the end of their red-giant phase. As such, blue horizontal-branch stars are very old objects that can be used as markers in studies of the Galactic structure and formation history. To create a clean sky catalogue of blue horizontal-branch stars, we cross-matched the Gaia data release 2 (DR2) dataset with existing reference catalogues to define selection criteria based on Gaia DR2 parameters. Following the publication of Gaia early data release 3 (EDR3), these methods were verified and subsequently applied to this latest release. Aims. Previous catalogues of blue horizontal-branch stars were developed using spectral analyses or were restricted to individual globular clusters. The purpose of this catalogue is to identify a set of blue horizontal-branch star candidates that have been selected using photometric and astrometric observations and exhibits a low contamination rate. This has been deemed important as the success of the Gaia mission has changed the way that targets are selected for large-scale spectroscopic surveys, meaning that far fewer spectra will be acquired for blue horizontal-branch stars in the future unless they are specifically targeted.
Methods. We cross-matched reference blue horizontal-branch datasets with the Gaia DR2 database and defined two sets of selection criteria. Firstly, in Gaia DR2 - colour and absolute G magnitude space, and secondly, in Gaia DR2 - colour and reduced proper motion space. The main-sequence contamination in both subsets of the catalogue was reduced, at the expense of completeness, by concentrating on the Milky Way's Galactic halo, where relatively young main-sequence stars were not expected. The entire catalogue is limited to those stars with no apparent neighbours within 5 arcsec. These methods were verified and subsequently applied to the Gaia EDR3. Results. We present a catalogue, based on Gaia EDR3, of 57 377 blue horizontal-branch stars. The Gaia EDR3 parallax was used in selecting 16 794 candidates and the proper motions were used to identify a further 40 583 candidates. KW - Hertzsprung-Russell and C-M diagrams KW - stars: horizontal-branch KW - catalogs KW - Galaxy: stellar content Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202040074 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 654 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - GEN A1 - Maier, Philipp A1 - Wolf, Jürgen A1 - Keilig, Thomas A1 - Krabbe, Alfred A1 - Duffard, Rene A1 - Ortiz, Jose-Luis A1 - Klinkner, Sabine A1 - Lengowski, Michael A1 - Müller, Thomas A1 - Lockowandt, Christian A1 - Krockstedt, Christian A1 - Kappelmann, Norbert A1 - Stelzer, Beate A1 - Werner, Klaus A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Kalkuhl, Christoph A1 - Rauch, Thomas A1 - Schanz, Thomas A1 - Barnstedt, Jürgen A1 - Conti, Lauro A1 - Hanke, Lars T1 - Towards a European Stratospheric Balloon Observatory BT - the ESBO design study T2 - Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII N2 - This paper presents the concept of a community-accessible stratospheric balloon-based observatory that is currently under preparation by a consortium of European research institutes and industry. We present the technical motivation, science case, instrumentation, and a two-stage image stabilization approach of the 0.5-m UV/visible platform. In addition, we briefly describe the novel mid-sized stabilized balloon gondola under design to carry telescopes in the 0.5 to 0.6 m range as well as the currently considered flight option for this platform. Secondly, we outline the scientific and technical motivation for a large balloon-based FIR telescope and the ESBO DS approach towards such an infrastructure. KW - astronomy KW - balloon telescopes KW - UV KW - far infrared KW - detectors KW - observatory Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-1-5106-1954-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2319248 SN - 0277-786X SN - 1996-756X VL - 10700 PB - SPIE-INT Soc Optical Engineering CY - Bellingham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Charpinet, Stéphane A1 - Brassard, P. A1 - Fontaine, G. A1 - Van Grootel, Valerie A1 - Zong, Weika A1 - Giammichele, N. A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Bognár, Zsófia A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Green, Elizabeth M. A1 - Hermes, J. J. A1 - Kilkenny, D. A1 - Ostensen, R. H. A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid Domingos A1 - Silvotti, R. A1 - Telting, J. H. A1 - Vuckovic, Maja A1 - Worters, H. L. A1 - Baran, Andrzej S. A1 - Bell, Keaton J. A1 - Bradley, Paul A. A1 - Debes, J. H. A1 - Kawaler, S. D. A1 - Kolaczek-Szymanski, P. A1 - Murphy, S. J. A1 - Pigulski, A. A1 - Sodor, A. A1 - Uzundag, Murat A1 - Handberg, R. A1 - Kjeldsen, H. A1 - Ricker, G. R. A1 - Vanderspek, R. K. T1 - TESS first look at evolved compact pulsators Discovery and asteroseismic probing of the g-mode hot B subdwarf pulsator EC 21494-7018 JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. The TESS satellite was launched in 2018 to perform high-precision photometry from space over almost the whole sky in a search for exoplanets orbiting bright stars. This instrument has opened new opportunities to study variable hot subdwarfs, white dwarfs, and related compact objects. Targets of interest include white dwarf and hot subdwarf pulsators, both carrying high potential for asteroseismology. Aims. We present the discovery and detailed asteroseismic analysis of a new g-mode hot B subdwarf (sdB) pulsator, EC 21494-7018 (TIC 278659026), monitored in TESS first sector using 120-s cadence. Methods. The TESS light curve was analyzed with standard prewhitening techniques, followed by forward modeling using our latest generation of sdB models developed for asteroseismic investigations. By simultaneously best-matching all the observed frequencies with those computed from models, we identified the pulsation modes detected and, more importantly, we determined the global parameters and structural configuration of the star. Results. The light curve analysis reveals that EC 21494-7018 is a sdB pulsator counting up to 20 frequencies associated with independent g-modes. The seismic analysis singles out an optimal model solution in full agreement with independent measurements provided by spectroscopy (atmospheric parameters derived from model atmospheres) and astrometry (distance evaluated from Gaia DR2 trigonometric parallax). Several key parameters of the star are derived. Its mass (0.391 +/- 0.009x2006;M-circle dot) is significantly lower than the typical mass of sdB stars and suggests that its progenitor has not undergone the He-core flash; therefore this progenitor could originate from a massive (greater than or similar to 2;M-circle dot) red giant, which is an alternative channel for the formation of sdBs. Other derived parameters include the H-rich envelope mass (0.0037 +/- 0.0010;M-circle dot), radius (0.1694 +/- 0.0081;R-circle dot), and luminosity (8.2 +/- 1.1;L-circle dot). The optimal model fit has a double-layered He+H composition profile, which we interpret as an incomplete but ongoing process of gravitational settling of helium at the bottom of a thick H-rich envelope. Moreover, the derived properties of the core indicate that EC 21494-7018 has burnt similar to 43% (in mass) of its central helium and possesses a relatively large mixed core (M-core;=;0.198 +/- 0.010;M-circle dot), in line with trends already uncovered from other g-mode sdB pulsators analyzed with asteroseismology. Finally, we obtain for the first time an estimate of the amount of oxygen (in mass; X(O)(core) = 0.16(-0.05)(+0.13)X(O)core=0.16-0.05+0.13$ X(mathrm{O})_{mathrm{core}}=0.16_{-0.05}<^>{+0.13} $) produced at this stage of evolution by an helium-burning core. This result, along with the core-size estimate, is an interesting constraint that may help to narrow down the still uncertain C-12(alpha,;gamma)O-16 nuclear reaction rate. KW - asteroseismology KW - stars KW - interiors KW - oscillations KW - horizontal-branch KW - individual KW - TIC 278659026 KW - subdwarfs Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935395 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 632 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Raddi, Roberto A1 - Hollands, M. A. A1 - Koester, D. A1 - Hermes, J. J. A1 - Gansicke, B. T. A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Shen, Ken J. A1 - Townsley, D. M. A1 - Pala, Anna Francesca A1 - Reding, J. S. A1 - Toloza, O. F. A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid Domingos A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Fusillo, Nicola Pietro Gentile A1 - Munari, Ullisse A1 - Strader, J. T1 - Partly burnt runaway stellar remnants from peculiar thermonuclear supernovae JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We report the discovery of three stars that, along with the prototype LP 40-365, form a distinct class of chemically peculiar runaway stars that are the survivors of thermonuclear explosions. Spectroscopy of the four confirmed LP 40-365 stars finds ONe-dominated atmospheres enriched with remarkably similar amounts of nuclear ashes of partial O- and Si-burning. Kinematic evidence is consistent with ejection from a binary supernova progenitor; at least two stars have rest-frame velocities indicating they are unbound to the Galaxy. With masses and radii ranging between 0.20 and 0.28M(circle dot) and between 0.16 and 0.60 R-circle dot, respectively, we speculate these inflated white dwarfs are the partly burnt remnants of either peculiar Type Iax or electron-capture supernovae. Adopting supernova rates from the literature, we estimate that similar to 20 LP 40-365 stars brighter than 19 mag should be detectable within 2 kpc from the Sun at the end of the Gaia mission. We suggest that as they cool, these stars will evolve in their spectroscopic appearance, and eventually become peculiar O-rich white dwarfs. Finally, we stress that the discovery of new LP 40-365 stars will be useful to further constrain their evolution, supplying key boundary conditions to the modelling of explosion mechanisms, supernova rates, and nucleosynthetic yields of peculiar thermonuclear explosions. KW - stars: individual: LP 40-365 KW - subdwarfs KW - supernovae: general KW - white dwarfs KW - Galaxy: kinematics and dynamics Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1618 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 489 IS - 2 SP - 1489 EP - 1508 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Irrgang, Andreas A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Kupfer, Thomas A1 - Fürst, F. T1 - PG 1610+062: a runaway B star challenging classical ejection mechanisms JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Hypervelocity stars are rare objects, mostly main-sequence (MS) B stars, traveling so fast that they will eventually escape from the Milky Way. Recently, it has been shown that the popular Hills mechanism, in which a binary system is disrupted via a close encounter with the supermassive black hole at the Galactic center, may not be their only ejection mechanism. The analyses of Gaia data ruled out a Galactic center origin for some of them, and instead indicated that they are extreme disk runaway stars ejected at velocities exceeding the predicted limits of classical scenarios (dynamical ejection from star clusters or binary supernova ejection). We present the discovery of a new extreme disk runaway star, PG 1610+062, which is a slowly pulsating B star bright enough to be studied in detail. A quantitative analysis of spectra taken with ESI at the Keck Observatory revealed that PG 1610+062 is a late B-type MS star of 4–5 M⊙ with low projected rotational velocity. Abundances (C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, and Fe) were derived differentially with respect to the normal B star HD 137366 and indicate that PG 1610+062 is somewhat metal rich. A kinematic analysis, based on our spectrophotometric distance (17.3 kpc) and on proper motions from Gaia’s second data release, shows that PG 1610+062 was probably ejected from the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm at a velocity of 550 ± 40 km s−1, which is beyond the classical limits. Accordingly, the star is in the top five of the most extreme MS disk runaway stars and is only the second among the five for which the chemical composition is known. KW - stars: abundances KW - stars: individual: HD 137366 KW - stars: kinematics and dynamics KW - stars: individual: PG 1610+062 KW - stars: early-type Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935429 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 628 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Barlow, Brad N. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Vuckovic, Maja A1 - Kilkenny, D. A1 - Wolz, M. A1 - Kupfer, Thomas A1 - Heber, Ulrich A1 - Drechsel, H. A1 - Kimeswenger, S. A1 - Marsh, T. A1 - Wolf, M. A1 - Pelisoli, Ingrid Domingos A1 - Freudenthal, Joseph A1 - Dreizler, S. A1 - Kreuzer, S. A1 - Ziegerer, E. T1 - The EREBOS project: Investigating the effect of substellar and low-mass stellar companions on late stellar evolution Survey, target selection, and atmospheric parameters JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Eclipsing post-common-envelope binaries are highly important for resolving the poorly understood, very short-lived common-envelope phase of stellar evolution. Most hot subdwarfs (sdO/Bs) are the bare helium-burning cores of red giants that have lost almost all of their hydrogen envelope. This mass loss is often triggered by common-envelope interactions with close stellar or even substellar companions. Cool companions to hot subdwarf stars such as late-type stars and brown dwarfs are detectable from characteristic light-curve variations - reflection effects and often eclipses. In the recently published catalog of eclipsing binaries in the Galactic Bulge and in the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey, we discovered 125 new eclipsing systems showing a reflection effect seen by visual inspection of the light curves and using a machine-learning algorithm, in addition to the 36 systems previously discovered by the Optical Gravitational Lesing Experiment (OGLE) team. The Eclipsing Reflection Effect Binaries from Optical Surveys (EREBOS) project aims at analyzing all newly discovered eclipsing binaries of the HW Vir type (hot subdwarf + close, cool companion) based on a spectroscopic and photometric follow up to derive the mass distribution of the companions, constrain the fraction of substellar companions, and determine the minimum mass needed to strip off the red-giant envelope. To constrain the nature of the primary we derived the absolute magnitude and the reduced proper motion of all our targets with the help of the parallaxes and proper motions measured by the Gaia mission and compared those to the Gaia white-dwarf candidate catalog. It was possible to derive the nature of a subset of our targets, for which observed spectra are available, by measuring the atmospheric parameter of the primary, confirming that less than 10% of our systems are not sdO/Bs with cool companions but are white dwarfs or central stars of planetary nebula. This large sample of eclipsing hot subdwarfs with cool companions allowed us to derive a significant period distribution for hot subdwarfs with cool companions for the first time showing that the period distribution is much broader than previously thought and is ideally suited to finding the lowest-mass companions to hot subdwarf stars. The comparison with related binary populations shows that the period distribution of HW Vir systems is very similar to WD+dM systems and central stars of planetary nebula with cool companions. In the future, several new photometric surveys will be carried out, which will further increase the sample of this project, providing the potential to test many aspects of common-envelope theory and binary evolution. KW - binaries: eclipsing KW - brown dwarfs KW - binaries: spectroscopic KW - binaries: close KW - subdwarfs KW - surveys Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936019 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 630 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ratzloff, Jeffrey K. A1 - Barlow, Brad N. A1 - Kupfer, Thomas A1 - Corcoran, Kyle A. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Bauer, Evan A1 - Corbett, Henry T. A1 - Howard, Ward S. A1 - Glazier, Amy A1 - Law, Nicholas M. T1 - EVR-CB-001: An Evolving, Progenitor, White Dwarf Compact Binary Discovered with the Evryscope JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We present EVR-CB-001, the discovery of a compact binary with an extremely low-mass (0.21 +/- 0.05M(circle dot)) helium core white dwarf progenitor (pre-He WD) and an unseen low-mass (0.32 +/- 0.06M(circle dot)) helium white dwarf (He WD) companion. He WDs are thought to evolve from the remnant helium-rich core of a main-sequence star stripped during the giant phase by a close companion. Low-mass He WDs are exotic objects (only about 0.2% of WDs are thought to be less than 0.3 M-circle dot), and are expected to be found in compact binaries. Pre-He WDs are even rarer, and occupy the intermediate phase after the core is stripped, but before the star becomes a fully degenerate WD and with a larger radius (approximate to 0.2R(circle dot)) than a typical WD. The primary component of EVR-CB-001 (the pre-He WD) was originally thought to be a hot subdwarf (sdB) star from its blue color and under-luminous magnitude, characteristic of sdBs. The mass, temperature (T-eff = 18,500 +/- 500 K), and surface gravity (log(g) = 4.96 +/- 0.04) solutions from this work are lower than values for typical hot subdwarfs. The primary is likely to be a post-red-giant branch, pre-He WD contracting into a He WD, and at a stage that places it nearest to sdBs on color-magnitude and T-eff-log(g) diagrams. EVR-CB-001 is expected to evolve into a fully double degenerate, compact system that should spin down and potentially evolve into a single hot subdwarf star. Single hot subdwarfs are observed, but progenitor systems have been elusive. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab3727 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 883 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fusillo, Nicola Pietro Gentile A1 - Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel A1 - Gänsicke, Boris T. A1 - Manser, Christopher J. A1 - Cunningham, Tim A1 - Cukanovaite, Elena A1 - Hollands, Mark A1 - Marsh, Thomas A1 - Raddi, Roberto A1 - Jordan, Stefan A1 - Toonen, Silvia A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Barstow, Martin A1 - Cummings, Jeffrey D. T1 - A Gaia Data Release 2 catalogue of white dwarfs and a comparison with SDSS JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We present a catalogue of white dwarf candidates selected from the second data release of Gaia (DR2). We used a sample of spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to map the entire space spanned by these objects in the Gaia Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. We then defined a set of cuts in absolute magnitude, colour, and a number of Gaia quality flags to remove the majority of contaminating objects. Finally, we adopt a method analogous to the one presented in our earlier SDSS photometric catalogues to calculate a probability of being a white dwarf (PWD) for all Gaia sources that passed the initial selection. The final catalogue is composed of 486641 stars with calculated PWD from which it is possible to select a sample of ≃260000 high-confidence white dwarf candidates in the magnitude range 8 < G < 21. By comparing this catalogue with a sample of SDSS white dwarf candidates, we estimate an upper limit in completeness of 85 per cent for white dwarfs with G ≤ 20 mag and Teff >7000 K, at high Galactic latitudes (|b| > 20°). However, the completeness drops at low Galactic latitudes, and the magnitude limit of the catalogue varies significantly across the sky as a function of Gaia’s scanning law. We also provide the list of objects within our sample with available SDSS spectroscopy. We use this spectroscopic sample to characterize the observed structure of the white dwarf distribution in the H–R diagram. KW - catalogues KW - surveys KW - white dwarfs Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty3016 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 482 IS - 4 SP - 4570 EP - 4591 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Latour, Marilyn A1 - Randall, Suzanna K. A1 - Calamida, Annalisa A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Moehler, Sabine T1 - The ultimate spectroscopic census of extreme horizontal branch stars in omega Centauri JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - The presence of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) and blue hook stars in some Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) constitutes one of the remaining mysteries of stellar evolution. While several evolutionary scenarios have been proposed to explain the characteristics of this peculiar population of evolved stars, their observational verification has been limited by the availability of spectroscopic data for a statistically significant sample of such objects in any single GGC. We recently launched the SHOTGLAS project with the aim of providing a comprehensive picture of this intriguing stellar population in terms of spectroscopic properties for all readily accessible GGCs hosting an EHB. In this first paper, we focus on omega Cen, a peculiar, massive GGC that hosts multiple stellar populations. We use non-LTE model atmospheres to derive atmospheric parameters (Te ff, log g and N(He) / N(H)) and spectroscopic masses for 152 EHB stars in the cluster. This constitutes the largest spectroscopic sample of EHB stars ever analyzed in a GGC and represents similar to 20% of the EHB population of omega Cen. We also search for close binaries among these stars based on radial velocity variations. Our results show that the EHB population of omega Cen is divided into three spectroscopic groups that are very distinct in the Te ff helium abundance plane. The coolest sdB-type stars (Te ff. 30 000 K) have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, populate the theoretical EHB region in the Te ff log g plane, and form 26% of our sample. The hottest sdO-type stars (Te ff & 42 000 K) make up 10% of the sample, have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and are thought to be in a post-EHB evolutionary phase. The majority of our sample is found at intermediate temperatures and consists of sdOB stars that have roughly solar or super-solar atmospheric helium abundances. It is these objects that constitute the blue hook at V > 18 : 5 mag in the omega Cen color-magnitude diagram. Interestingly, the helium-enriched sdOBs do not have a significant counterpart population in the Galactic field, indicating that their formation is dependent on the particular environment found in omega Cen and other select GGCs. Another major di ff erence between the EHB stars in omega Cen and the field is the fraction of close binaries. From our radial velocity survey we identify two binary candidates, however no orbital solutions could be determined. We estimate an EHB close binary fraction of similar to 5% in omega Cen. This low fraction is in line with findings for other GGCs, but in sharp contrast to the situation in the field, where around 50% of the sdB stars reside in close binaries. Finally, the mass distribution derived is very similar for all three spectroscopic groups, however the average mass (0.38 M fi) is lower than that expected from stellar evolution theory. While this mass conundrum has previously been noted for EHB stars in omega Cen, it so far appears to be unique to that cluster. KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: horizontal-branch KW - subdwarfs KW - stars: fundamental parameters KW - binaries: close KW - globular clusters: individual: NGC5139 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833129 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 618 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Raddi, Roberto A1 - Fusillo, Nicola Pietro Gentile A1 - Marsh, T. R. T1 - The population of hot subdwarf stars studied with Gaia BT - II. The Gaia DR2 catalogue of hot subluminous stars JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Based on data from the ESA Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and several ground-based, multi-band photometry surveys we have compiled an all-sky catalogue of 39 800 hot subluminous star candidates selected in Gaia DR2 by means of colour, absolute magnitude, and reduced proper motion cuts. We expect the majority of the candidates to be hot subdwarf stars of spectral type B and O, followed by blue horizontal branch stars of late B-type (HBB), hot post-AGB stars, and central stars of planetary nebulae. The contamination by cooler stars should be about 10%. The catalogue is magnitude limited to Gaia G < 19 mag and covers the whole sky. Except within the Galactic plane and LMC/SMC regions, we expect the catalogue to be almost complete up to about 1.5 kpc. The main purpose of this catalogue is to serve as input target list for the large-scale photometric and spectroscopic surveys which are ongoing or scheduled to start in the coming years. In the long run, securing a statistically significant sample of spectroscopically confirmed hot subluminous stars is key to advance towards a more detailed understanding of the latest stages of stellar evolution for single and binary stars. KW - subdwarfs KW - stars: horizontal-branch KW - catalogs Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834236 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 621 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Bainbridge, M. A1 - Przybilla, Norbert A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Prvak, M. A1 - Krticka, Jiri A1 - Ostensen, R. H. A1 - Telting, J. A1 - Werner, K. T1 - Unravelling the baffling mystery of the ultrahot wind phenomenon in white dwarfs JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - The presence of ultrahigh excitation (UHE) absorption lines (e.g. OVIII) in the optical spectra of several of the hottest white dwarfs poses a decades-long mystery and is something that has never been observed in any other astrophysical object. The occurrence of such features requires a dense environment with temperatures near 10(6) K, by far exceeding the stellar effective temperature. Here we report the discovery of a new hot wind white dwarf, GALEXJ014636.8+323615. Astonishingly, we found for the first time rapid changes of the equivalent widths of the UHE features, which are correlated to the rotational period of the star (P=0.242035 d). We explain this with the presence of a wind-fed circumstellar magnetosphere in which magnetically confined wind shocks heat up the material to the high temperatures required for the creation of the UHE lines. The photometric and spectroscopic variability of GALEXJ014636.8+323615 can then be understood as consequence of the obliquity of the magnetic axis with respect to the rotation axis of the white dwarf. This is the first time a wind-fed circumstellar magnetosphere around an apparently isolated white dwarf has been discovered and finally offers a plausible explanation of the ultrahot wind phenomenon. KW - stars: AGB and post-AGB KW - stars: evolution KW - stars: magnetic field Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/sly191 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 482 IS - 1 SP - L93 EP - L98 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - GEN A1 - Finch, Nicolle L. A1 - Braker, I. P. A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Barstow, Martin A. A1 - Casewell, Sarah L. A1 - Burleigh, M. A1 - Kupfer, Thomas A1 - Kilkenny, D. A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Schaffenroth, Veronika A1 - Bertolami Miller, Marcelo Miguel A1 - Taubenberger, Stefan A1 - Freudenthal, Joseph T1 - Spectral Analysis of Binary Pre-white Dwarf Systems T2 - Radiative signatures from the cosmos N2 - Short period double degenerate white dwarf (WD) binaries with periods of less than similar to 1 day are considered to be one of the likely progenitors of type Ia supernovae. These binaries have undergone a period of common envelope evolution. If the core ignites helium before the envelope is ejected, then a hot subdwarf remains prior to contracting into a WD. Here we present a comparison of two very rare systems that contain two hot subdwarfs in short period orbits. We provide a quantitative spectroscopic analysis of the systems using synthetic spectra from state-of-the-art non-LTE models to constrain the atmospheric parameters of the stars. We also use these models to determine the radial velocities, and thus calculate dynamical masses for the stars in each system. Y1 - 2019 SN - 978-1-58381-925-8 SN - 1050-3390 VL - 519 SP - 231 EP - 238 PB - Astronomical soc pacific CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Ostensen, R. H. T1 - Discovery of two bright DO-type white dwarfs JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We discovered two bright DO-type white dwarfs, GALEXJ053628.3+544854 (J0536+5448) and GALEXJ231128.0+292935(J2311+2929), which rank among the eight brightest DO-type white dwarfs known. Our non-LTE model atmosphere analysis reveals effective temperatures and surface gravities of T-eff = 80000 +/- 4600K and log g = 8.25 +/- 0.15 for J0536+5448 and T-eff = 69400 +/- 900K and log g = 7.80 +/- 0.06 for J2311+2929. The latter shows a significant amount of carbon in its atmosphere (C = 0.003(-0.002)(+0.005), by mass), while for J0536+5448 we could derive only an upper limit of C < 0.003. Furthermore, we calculated spectroscopic distances for the two stars and found a good agreement with the distances derived from the Gaia parallaxes. KW - stars: abundances KW - stars: atmospheres KW - white dwarfs Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1875 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 480 IS - 1 SP - 1211 EP - 1217 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER -