2023NatAs...7.1218M -
Nature Astronomy, 7, 1218-1227 (2023/October-0)
Breaking waves on the surface of the heartbeat star MACHO 80.7443.1718.
MacLEOD M. and LOEB A.
Abstract (from CDS):
Massive astrophysical compact halo object (MACHO) 80.7443.1718 is a high mass, eccentric binary system exhibiting the largest-known-amplitude tidally excited oscillations. The system's ±20% photometric amplitude, along with the high mass of the primary star, ∼35 M⊙, make this the most extreme of the class of periodically perturbed 'heartbeat stars.' Here, we use a hydrodynamic simulation to demonstrate that with each periapse passage, an unseen companion star raises tidal waves so large that they break, shock-heating and dissipating energy and angular momentum on the surface of the star. The shock-heated material forms a rapidly rotating circumstellar atmosphere, which is stripped and reassembled with each periapse passage. The dissipation of nonlinear tides through surface wave breaking explains the super-synchronous rotation of the primary star, the evolution of spectral emission features and the observed decay of the binary orbital period. Connecting these features demonstrates that MACHO 80.7443.1718 is a natural product of massive binary star evolution, and that it provides an ideal laboratory for the direct study of nonlinear tidal dissipation.
Abstract Copyright:
2023 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited
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