BENGALURU: In a discovery that reads like celestial fiction, astronomers have uncovered proof of a “vampire star” rejuvenating itself by feeding on a companion star within the “M67” star cluster. This discovering, made attainable by India’s AstroSat area observatory, supplies a uncommon glimpse into the advanced world of binary star evolution and stellar rejuvenation.
The analysis, carried out by a workforce from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), focuses on a peculiar class of stars generally known as blue stragglers. These stars, present in clusters, seem youthful than their neighbours, defying easy fashions of stellar evolution. The thriller behind their youthful look has lengthy puzzled astronomers, with theories suggesting they could be consuming materials from companion stars.
On the coronary heart of this cosmic drama is “WOCS 9005”, a star residing in M67, an open cluster within the constellation Most cancers. Utilizing spectroscopic knowledge from the Galah (Galactic Archaeology with Hermes) survey, researchers found that WOCS 9005’s ambiance is unusually wealthy in heavy components similar to barium, yttrium, and lanthanum. These components are sometimes related to a lot older, extra large stars of their last phases of life.
“This star is predicted to indicate chemistry similar to our Solar, however we discovered that its ambiance is wealthy in heavy components. This chemical anomaly pointed to an enchanting risk: WOCS 9005 had been “polluted” by materials from a companion star,” Harshit Pal, the examine’s lead writer.
The plot thickened when the workforce turned to AstroSat, India’s first devoted area observatory. Utilizing its Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT), they detected vital ultraviolet emissions from WOCS 9005. This was surprising for a star with a temperature just like Solar, suggesting the presence of a scorching, compact companion – seemingly the remnant of the donor star.
“The blue straggler star that we see now will need to have eaten up most of this barium-rich materials because of its gravitational pull, and is now presenting itself as a rejuvenated star,” mentioned Prof Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of IIA and co-author of the paper.
This discovery marks the primary time scientists have noticed each a chemically enriched blue straggler and the remnant of its donor star in a cluster setting. It supplies compelling proof for the mass switch principle of blue straggler formation and affords a uncommon glimpse into the life cycle of binary star techniques.
The implications of this discovering lengthen past the realm of stellar evolution. The heavy components noticed in WOCS 9005 are created via a course of known as s-process nucleosynthesis, accountable for producing about half of the atomic nuclei heavier than iron within the universe. Understanding how these components are distributed via stellar interactions contributes to our data of cosmic chemical enrichment.
Bala Sudhakara Reddy, a co-author of the examine, famous that WOCS 9005 is the primary “barium blue straggler” found in M67, including one other layer of significance to the discovering.
The analysis, set to be revealed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, not solely solves a long-standing astronomical puzzle but in addition showcases the capabilities of India’s area programme. AstroSat’s means to detect the faint UV emissions from the white dwarf companion proved essential in piecing collectively this cosmic narrative.
The analysis, carried out by a workforce from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), focuses on a peculiar class of stars generally known as blue stragglers. These stars, present in clusters, seem youthful than their neighbours, defying easy fashions of stellar evolution. The thriller behind their youthful look has lengthy puzzled astronomers, with theories suggesting they could be consuming materials from companion stars.
On the coronary heart of this cosmic drama is “WOCS 9005”, a star residing in M67, an open cluster within the constellation Most cancers. Utilizing spectroscopic knowledge from the Galah (Galactic Archaeology with Hermes) survey, researchers found that WOCS 9005’s ambiance is unusually wealthy in heavy components similar to barium, yttrium, and lanthanum. These components are sometimes related to a lot older, extra large stars of their last phases of life.
“This star is predicted to indicate chemistry similar to our Solar, however we discovered that its ambiance is wealthy in heavy components. This chemical anomaly pointed to an enchanting risk: WOCS 9005 had been “polluted” by materials from a companion star,” Harshit Pal, the examine’s lead writer.
The plot thickened when the workforce turned to AstroSat, India’s first devoted area observatory. Utilizing its Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT), they detected vital ultraviolet emissions from WOCS 9005. This was surprising for a star with a temperature just like Solar, suggesting the presence of a scorching, compact companion – seemingly the remnant of the donor star.
“The blue straggler star that we see now will need to have eaten up most of this barium-rich materials because of its gravitational pull, and is now presenting itself as a rejuvenated star,” mentioned Prof Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of IIA and co-author of the paper.
This discovery marks the primary time scientists have noticed each a chemically enriched blue straggler and the remnant of its donor star in a cluster setting. It supplies compelling proof for the mass switch principle of blue straggler formation and affords a uncommon glimpse into the life cycle of binary star techniques.
The implications of this discovering lengthen past the realm of stellar evolution. The heavy components noticed in WOCS 9005 are created via a course of known as s-process nucleosynthesis, accountable for producing about half of the atomic nuclei heavier than iron within the universe. Understanding how these components are distributed via stellar interactions contributes to our data of cosmic chemical enrichment.
Bala Sudhakara Reddy, a co-author of the examine, famous that WOCS 9005 is the primary “barium blue straggler” found in M67, including one other layer of significance to the discovering.
The analysis, set to be revealed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, not solely solves a long-standing astronomical puzzle but in addition showcases the capabilities of India’s area programme. AstroSat’s means to detect the faint UV emissions from the white dwarf companion proved essential in piecing collectively this cosmic narrative.
