Identification of the Long-Sought Common-Envelope Events

Ivanova, Natalia; Justham, S.; Nandez, Jose L. A.; Lombardi, James C., Jr. (Jamie)

doi:10.1126/science.1225540

Identification of the Long-Sought Common-Envelope Events

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/37036

Author(s)

Ivanova, Natalia

Justham, S.

Nandez, Jose L. A.

Lombardi, James C., Jr. (Jamie)

Date Issued

January 25, 2013

Abstract

Common-envelope events (CEEs), during which two stars temporarily orbit within a shared envelope, are believed to be vital for the formation of a wide range of close binaries. For decades, the only evidence that CEEs actually occur has been indirect, based on the existence of systems that could not be otherwise explained. Here we propose a direct observational signature of CEEs arising from a physical model where emission from matter ejected in a CEE is controlled by a recombination front as the matter cools. The natural range of time scales and energies from this model, as well as the expected colors, light-curve shapes, ejection velocities, and event rate, match those of a recently recognized class of red transient outbursts.

Journal

Science

Department

Physics

Citation

Ivanova, N., et al. 2013. "Identification of the Long-Sought Common-Envelope Events." Science 339, no. 6118 (January 25): 433-435.

Publisher

Science

Version of Article

Postprint

DOI

10.1126/science.1225540

ISSN

0036-8075

1095-9203

Rights

This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science on January 25, 2013 (v.339), DOI: 10.1126/science.1225540

File(s)

Name

Lombardi 2013 Science.pdf

Description

Postprint

Size

945.12 KB

Format

Adobe PDF

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