English

Two unseen massive white dwarf candidates in close binaries

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2026-02-17 v2

Abstract

We report the discovery of two binary systems, each consisting of a slightly bloated G-type main-sequence star and an unseen companion, identified through photometric data from TESS and radial velocity variation from Gaia. High-resolution spectroscopy confirms orbital periods of 1.37 and 2 .67 d with circular orbits. The visible components have masses of \sim0.9--1.0M\,M_\odot, while the minimum masses of the unseen companions are 1.0780.060+0.058M1.078^{+0.058}_{-0.060}\, M_\odot and 0.9430.049+0.048M0.943^{+0.048}_{-0.049}\, M_\odot, respectively. Assuming tidal synchronization, we estimate the companion masses to be 1.130.08+0.11M1.13^{+0.11}_{-0.08} M_\odot and 1.050.10+0.15M1.05^{+0.15}_{-0.10} M_\odot. The absence of detectable spectral features from the companions rules out main-sequence stars of these masses, suggesting that the unseen companions are likely O/Ne or C/O massive white dwarfs. The short orbital periods imply that these systems are post-common envelope binaries. Their subsequent evolution is uncertain, with possible outcomes including cataclysmic variables, Type Ia supernovae, or accretion-induced collapse, depending on the nature of future mass transfer.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.12808,
  title  = {Two unseen massive white dwarf candidates in close binaries},
  author = {Yuta Shiraishi and Kenta Hotokezaka and Kento Masuda and Satoshi Honda and Ataru Tanikawa and Soetkin Janssens and Takato Tokuno and Takumi Shimasue and Ryoga Honjo and Bun'ei Sato and Masashi Omiya and Akito Tajitsu and Hideyuki Izumiura},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.12808},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

This article is published in PASJ as open access, published by OUP (https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psaf148). 23 pages, 19 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T05:38:39.648Z