The CHARA Array Interferometric Program on the Multiplicity of Classical Be Stars: New Detections and Orbits of Stripped Subdwarf Companions

Abstract

Rapid rotation and nonradial pulsations enable Be stars to build decretion disks, where the characteristic line emission forms. A major but unconstrained fraction of Be stars owe their rapid rotation to mass and angular momentum transfer in a binary. The faint, stripped companions can be helium-burning subdwarf OB-type stars (sdOBs), white dwarfs (WDs), or neutron stars. We present optical/near-infrared Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) interferometry of 37 Be stars selected for spectroscopic indications of low-mass companions. From multiepoch H - and/or K -band interferometry plus radial velocities and parallaxes collected elsewhere, we constructed 3D orbits and derived flux ratios and absolute dynamical masses of both components for six objects, quadrupling the number of anchor points for evolutionary models. In addition, a new wider companion was identified for the known Be + sdO binary 59 Cyg, while auxiliary Very Large Telescope Interferometer/GRAVITY spectrointerferometry confirmed circumstellar matter around the sdO companion to HR 2142. On the other hand, we failed to detect any companion to the six Be stars with γ Cas–like X-ray emission, with sdOB and main-sequence companions of the expected spectroscopic mass being ruled out for the X-ray-prototypical stars γ Cas and π Aqr, leaving elusive WDs as the most likely companions, as well as a likely explanation of the X-rays. No low-mass main-sequence close companions were identified for the other stars.

Keywords

• Be stars
• O subdwarf stars
• Binary stars
• Orbit determination
• Optical interferometry
• Multiple star evolution