2004AJ....127.2936S

Extensive photometric and spectroscopic observations have been obtained for HS 1136+6646. The observations reveal a newly formed post-common-envelope binary system containing a hot ∼DAO.5 primary and a highly irradiated secondary. HS 1136+6646 is the most extreme example yet of a class of short-period hot H-rich white dwarfs with K-M companion systems such as V471 Tau and Feige 24. HS 1136+6646 is a double-line spectroscopic binary showing emission lines of H I, He II, C II, Ca II, and Mg II, due in part to irradiation of the K7 V secondary by the hot white dwarf. Echelle spectra reveal the hydrogen emission lines to be double-peaked with widths of ∼200 km/s, raising the possibility that emission from an optically thin disk may also contribute. The emission lines are observed to disappear near the inferior conjunction. An orbital period of 0.83607±0.00003 days has been determined through the phasing of radial velocities, emission-line equivalent widths, and photometric measurements spanning a range of 24 months. Radial velocity measurements yield an amplitude of K_WD=69±2 km/s for the white dwarf and K_K7V=115±1 km/s for the secondary star. In addition to orbital variations, photometric measurements have also revealed a low-amplitude modulation with a period of 113.13 minutes and a semiamplitude of 0.0093 mag. These short-period modulations are possibly associated with the rotation of the white dwarf. From fits of the Balmer line profiles, the white dwarf is estimated to have an effective temperature and gravity of ∼70,000 K and logg∼7.75, respectively. However, this optically derived temperature is difficult to reconcile with the far-UV spectrum of the Lyman line region. Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectra show the presence of O VI absorption lines and a spectral energy distribution whose slope persists nearly to the Lyman limit. The extremely high temperature of the white dwarf, from both optical and UV measurements, indicates that the binary system is one of the earliest post-common-envelope objects known, having an age around 7.7x10⁵ yr. Although the spectrum of the secondary star is best represented by a K7 V star, indications are that the star may be overly luminous for its mass.