CaltechAUTHORS
Published March 2017 | Version Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

The most massive heartbeat: an in-depth analysis of ι Orionis

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Montreal
  • 2. ROR icon University of Toledo
  • 3. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 4. ROR icon Graz University of Technology
  • 5. ROR icon Silesian University of Technology
  • 6. ROR icon Polish Academy of Sciences
  • 7. ROR icon Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics
  • 8. ROR icon University of Wrocław
  • 9. ROR icon Royal Military College of Canada
  • 10. ROR icon University of Vienna
  • 11. ROR icon KU Leuven

Abstract

ι Ori is a well-studied massive binary consisting of an O9 III + B1 III/IV star. Due to its high eccentricity (e = 0.764) and short orbital period (Porb = 29.133 76 d), it has been considered to be a good candidate to show evidence of tidal effects; however, none have previously been identified. Using photometry from the BRIght Target Explorer (BRITE)-Constellation space photometry mission, we have confirmed the existence of tidal distortions through the presence of a heartbeat signal at periastron. We combine spectroscopic and light-curve analyses to measure the masses and radii of the components, revealing ι Ori to be the most massive heartbeat system known to date. In addition, using a thorough frequency analysis, we also report the unprecedented discovery of multiple tidally induced oscillations in an O star. The amplitudes of the pulsations allow us to empirically estimate the tidal circularization rate, yielding an effective tidal quality factor Q ∼ 4 × 10^4.

Additional Information

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accepted 2017 January 19. Received 2017 January 18; in original form 2016 November 18. This work is based on data collected by the BRITE Constellation satellite mission, designed, built, launched, operated and supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the University of Vienna, the Technical University of Graz, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), the Foundation for Polish Science & Technology (FNiTP MNiSW) and National Science Centre (NCN). We would like to thank the computing infrastructure at Villanova for use of their cluster. NDR acknowledges postdoctoral support by the University of Toledo and by the Helen Luedtke Brooks Endowed Professorship. AFJM and HP are grateful for financial aid from NSERC (Canada) and FQRNT (Quebec).GAW acknowledges Discovery Grant support from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. AP acknowledges support from the NCN grant no. 2016/21/B/ST9/01126. JF acknowledges partial support from NSF under grant no. AST1205732 and through a Lee DuBridge Fellowship at Caltech. GH acknowledges support from the Polish NCN grant 2015/18/A/ST9/00578. The Polish participation in the BRITE project is secured by NCN grant 2011/01/M/ST9/05914. APo acknowledges NCN grant 2016/21/D/ST9/00656.

Attached Files

Published - stx207.pdf

Submitted - 1703.02086.pdf

Files

1703.02086.pdf

Files (2.3 MB)

Name Size Download all
md5:dd44a3dfac1a4ffb24d8e7083d043966
1.4 MB Preview Download
md5:81000268632241ba2376a47f3c34fb96
971.4 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
77024
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20170427-151420554

Related works

Describes
https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.02086 (URL)

Funding

Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
University of Vienna
Technical University of Graz
Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
University of Toronto
Foundation for Polish Science & Technology (FNiTP MNiSW)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT)
National Science Centre (Poland)
2016/21/B/ST9/01126
NSF
AST-1205732
Lee A. DuBridge Foundation
National Science Centre (Poland)
2015/18/A/ST9/00578
National Science Centre (Poland)
2011/01/M/ST9/05914
National Science Centre (Poland)
2016/21/D/ST9/00656

Dates

Created
2017-04-28
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-15
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, Astronomy Department