Finding the unusual red giant remnants of cataclysmic variable mergers

Abstract

Mergers between helium white dwarfs and main-sequence stars are likely common, producing red giant-like remnants making up roughly a few percent of all low-mass ($\lesssim2M_\odot$) red giants. Through detailed modeling, we show that these merger remnants possess distinctive photometric, asteroseismic, and surface abundance signatures through which they may be identified. During hydrogen shell burning, merger remnants reach higher luminosities and possess pulsations which depart from the usual degenerate sequence on the asteroseismic $\Delta\nu$--$\Delta\Pi$ diagram for red giant branch stars. For sufficiently massive helium white dwarfs, merger remnants undergo especially violent helium flashes which can dredge up a large amount of core material (up to $\sim0.1M_\odot$) into the envelope. Such post-dredge-up remnants are more luminous than normal red clump stars, are surface carbon-, helium-, and possibly lithium-rich, and possess a wider range of asteroseismic g-mode period spacings and mixed-mode couplings. Recent asteroseismically determined low-mass ($\lesssim0.8M_\odot$) red clump stars may be core helium-burning remnants of mergers involving lower-mass helium white dwarfs.