2026AJ....171..159M


Query : 2026AJ....171..159M

2026AJ....171..159M - Astron. J., 171, 159 (2026/March-0)

A Not-so-compact Companion: Massive, Oversized White Dwarf in a Post-common-envelope Eclipsing Binary.

MOTHERWAY E., LINCK E., MATHIEU R.D., DIXON D., STASSUN K.G., BREIVIK K., MAJEWSKI S. and POLS O.R.

Abstract (from CDS):

We provide a detailed characterization of 2M07515777+1807352, a post-common-envelope eclipsing binary system with a 10.3-day, nearly (but not quite) circular orbit (e = 0.02). This system consists of a massive white dwarf (WD; 1.08 M⊙) and a 4400 K main-sequence companion (0.66 M⊙). This WD is among the most massive known within post-common-envelope binary systems. We also find, through both spectral energy distribution and TESS light-curve analyses, that the WD has a radius of 1.54 ± 0.07 R⊕, roughly 12σ larger than the expected value from WD mass-radius relationships. Both the Lomb-Scargle analysis and the $v\sin i$ of the system indicate that the main-sequence companion is supersynchronously rotating at a period of ∼6 days, which may suggest that accretion occurred during the evolution of the system. This binary also shares similar physical characteristics with six other post-common-envelope systems hosting massive WDs, which may point to a shared formation pathway. We model the history of this system with COSMIC and find that it likely formed through an episode of common-envelope evolution following the onset of mass transfer when the progenitor primary was on either the early or thermally pulsing stages of the asymptotic giant branch. As a result of its properties, the study of 2M07515777+1807352 can provide new insights regarding many key outstanding questions in our understanding of common-envelope evolution.

Abstract Copyright: © 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Binary stars - Common envelope evolution - Close binary stars - Common envelope binary stars - Eclipsing binary stars - Stellar evolution - Stellar physics - Multiple star evolution - White dwarf stars

Simbad objects: 5

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Number of rows : 5
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA
ICRS (J2000)
DEC
Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026
#notes
1 UCAC4 541-043811 SB* 07 51 57.7713114264 +18 07 35.243944464   14.734 13.488 13.034   ~ 8 0
2 * 85 Gem * 07 55 39.8944472784 +19 53 02.281229304   5.329 5.365     A0Vs 57 0
3 NGC 2632 OpC 08 39 58.4 +19 36 33           ~ 1733 0
4 V* BY Dra BY* 18 33 55.7720712062 +51 43 08.897780286 10.22 9.23   8.733   K4Ve+K7.5Ve 639 0
5 V* IK Peg dS* 21 26 26.6611049976 +19 22 32.310190344   6.294 6.064     kA6hA9mF0+DA 204 0

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