Infrared variable stars in the compact elliptical galaxy M32

Jones, O. C.; Nally, Conor; Sharp, Michael; McDonald, Iain; Boyer, Martha L.; Meixner, Margaret; Kemper, F.; Ferguson, Annette M. N.; Goldman, S. R.; Rich, R. Michael

doi:10.1093/mnras/stab923

Cited by 3 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…Cyg X-1 is classified as an HMXB (Bolton 1972b), and the donor star is characterized as a massive star of spectral type O9.7Iabpvar (Sota et al 2011). The system is fairly young, with an estimated age of 5 ± 1.5 Myr in Mirabel & Rodrigues (2003) and <4 Myr in Miller- Jones et al (2021). Cyg X-1 is located at 2.22 0.18 0.17 -+ kpc; its distance from the observer was precisely estimated in Miller- Jones et al (2021) based on radio parallax measurements and validated with Gaia DR3.…”

Section: Cyg X-1mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The system is fairly young, with an estimated age of 5 ± 1.5 Myr in Mirabel & Rodrigues (2003) and <4 Myr in Miller- Jones et al (2021). Cyg X-1 is located at 2.22 0.18 0.17 -+ kpc; its distance from the observer was precisely estimated in Miller- Jones et al (2021) based on radio parallax measurements and validated with Gaia DR3. The microquasar undergoes variable X-ray emission (Krimm et al 2013), with a maximum X-ray luminosity of ∼3 × 10 37 erg s −1 (Di Salvo et al 2001).…”

Section: Cyg X-1mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…of X-ray binaries. For the other X-ray binaries, the distance was estimated through a photogeometric calculation (Bailer- Jones et al 2021). It was calculated using the parallax measurement and its uncertainty (geometric), as well as the G magnitude and the BP − RP color (photometric) from the Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3; De Montegriffo et al 2023).…”

Section: Determining the Distance From The Observermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used TRILEGAL (Girardi et al 2005) to discriminate background/foreground stars from gravitationally bound CBCs. TRILEGAL is a 3D model employed to simulate the photometric properties of star fields within the Galaxy (e.g., Chun et al 2015;Dietrich & Ginski 2018;Jones et al 2021;Williams et al 2021). We compiled a list of predicted sources within a 1 × 1 arcmin 2 region surrounding the X-ray binary using its R.A./decl.…”

Section: Background Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The First High-contrast Images of Near High-mass X-Ray Binaries with Keck/NIRC2

Prasow-Émond,

Hlavacek-Larrondo,

Fogarty

et al. 2024

ApJ

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Although the study of X-ray binaries has led to major breakthroughs in high-energy astrophysics, their circumbinary environment at scales of ∼100–10,000 au has not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we undertake a novel and exploratory study by employing direct and high-contrast imaging techniques on a sample of X-ray binaries, using adaptive optics and the vortex coronagraph on Keck/NIRC2. High-contrast imaging opens up the possibility to search for exoplanets, brown dwarfs, circumbinary companion stars, and protoplanetary disks in these extreme systems. Here we present the first near-infrared high-contrast images of 13 high-mass X-ray binaries located within ∼2–3 kpc. The key results of this campaign involve the discovery of several candidate circumbinary companions ranging from substellar (brown dwarf) to stellar masses. By conducting an analysis based on Galactic population models, we discriminate sources that are likely background/foreground stars and isolate those that have a high probability (≳60%–99%) of being gravitationally bound to the X-ray binary. This paper seeks to establish a preliminary catalog for future analyses of proper motion and subsequent observations. With our preliminary results, we calculate the first estimate of the companion frequency and the multiplicity frequency for X-ray binaries: ≈0.6 and 1.8 ± 0.9, respectively, considering only the sources that are most likely bound to the X-ray binary. In addition to extending our comprehension of how brown dwarfs and stars can form and survive in such extreme systems, our study opens a new window to our understanding of the formation of X-ray binaries.

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Section: Cyg X-1mentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Cyg X-1mentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Determining the Distance From The Observermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The First High-contrast Images of Near High-mass X-Ray Binaries with Keck/NIRC2

Prasow-Émond,

Hlavacek-Larrondo,

Fogarty

et al. 2024

ApJ

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“…Since both ¢ L and K s observations were taken, we were able to construct a color-magnitude diagram, as has been done in previous studies to estimate the physical properties of companions (e.g., Rameau et al 2013;Salaris & Bedin 2018;Jones et al 2021). Figure 3 presents the absolute magnitude in…”

Section: Color-magnitude Diagrammentioning

confidence: 99%

The First High-contrast Images of X-Ray Binaries: Detection of Candidate Companions in the γ Cas Analog RX J1744.7-2713

Prasow-Émond

Hlavacek-Larrondo

Fogarty

et al. 2022

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X-ray binaries provide exceptional laboratories for understanding the physics of matter under the most extreme conditions. Until recently, there were few, if any, observational constraints on the circumbinary environments of X-ray binaries at ∼100–5000 au scales. It remains unclear how the accretion onto the compact objects or the explosions giving rise to the compact objects interact with their immediate surroundings. Here, we present the first high-contrast adaptive optics images of X-ray binaries. These observations target all X-ray binaries within ∼3 kpc accessible with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph. This paper focuses on one of the first key results from this campaign; our images reveal the presence of 21 sources potentially associated with the γ Cassiopeiae analog high-mass X-ray binary RX J1744.7−2713. By conducting different analyses—a preliminary proper motion analysis, a color–magnitude diagram, and a probability of chance alignment calculation—we found that three of these 21 sources have a high probability of being bound to the system. If confirmed, they would be in wide orbits (∼450 to 2500 au). While follow-up astrometric observations will be needed in ∼5–10 yr to confirm further the bound nature of these detections, these discoveries emphasize that such observations may provide a major breakthrough in the field. In fact, they would be useful not only for our understanding of stellar multiplicity, but also for our understanding of how planets, brown dwarfs, and stars can form even in the most extreme environments.

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Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the compact elliptical galaxy M32 reveals a dearth of carbon stars

Jones,

Boyer,

McDonald

et al. 2023

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We present new Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/IR medium-band photometry of the compact elliptical galaxy M32, chemically resolving its thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch stars. We find 2829 M-type stars and 57 C stars. The carbon stars are likely contaminants from M31. If carbon stars are present in M32 they are so in very low numbers. The uncorrected C/M ratio is 0.020 ± 0.003; this drops to less than 0.007 after taking into account contamination from M31. As the mean metallicity of M32 is just below solar, this low ratio of C to M stars is unlikely due to a metallicity ceiling for the formation of carbon stars. Instead, the age of the AGB population is likely to be the primary factor. The ratio of AGB to RGB stars in M32 is similar to that of the inner disc of M31 which contain stars that formed 1.5–4 Gyr ago. If the M32 population is at the older end of this age then its lack of C-stars may be consistent with a narrow mass range for carbon star formation predicted by some stellar evolution models. Applying our chemical classifications to the dusty variable stars identified with Spitzer, we find that the x-AGB candidates identified with Spitzer are predominately M-type stars. This substantially increases the lower limit to the cumulative dust-production rate in M32 to > 1.20 × 10−5 M⊙ yr−1.

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Infrared variable stars in the compact elliptical galaxy M32

Cited by 3 publications

References 106 publications

The First High-contrast Images of Near High-mass X-Ray Binaries with Keck/NIRC2

The First High-contrast Images of Near High-mass X-Ray Binaries with Keck/NIRC2

The First High-contrast Images of X-Ray Binaries: Detection of Candidate Companions in the γ Cas Analog RX J1744.7-2713

Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the compact elliptical galaxy M32 reveals a dearth of carbon stars

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