White Dwarf Orbits Fast, Condensing 72 Earth Years into One Day
A remarkable binary system recently discovered by astronomers unveils a celestial spectacle where a "dead star," known as a white dwarf, whirls around its scorching companion so swiftly that it compresses approximately 72 Earth years into a mere single day.
Using the Tsinghua University-Ma Huateng Telescope for Survey (TMTS), a team from Tsinghua University identified the system, designated as TMTS J0526, located roughly 2,760 light-years away from Earth, as reported by Space.
TMTS J0526 features a white dwarf star rich in carbon and oxygen, boasting a mass equivalent to about 74% of the Sun's. This white dwarf orbits a hot subdwarf star, approximately seven times wider than Earth and possessing a mass around one-third of our Sun. Despite being smaller than Jupiter in volume, the subdwarf stands as one of the smallest stars ever observed.
Remarkably, segments of TMTS J0526 complete each orbit in approximately 20.5 minutes, setting a new record for this type of binary system, although still slower than HM Cancri, which features two white dwarfs completing an orbit every 5.4 minutes.
During their rapid dance, the white dwarf's intense gravitational pull distorts the subdwarf, shaping it into an ellipsoid due to the immense forces at play.
Beyond its swift orbital period, TMTS J0526's discovery holds significance for shedding light on the formation process of such diminutive subdwarf stars. These stars originate when sun-sized stars deplete their hydrogen cores, leading to their collapse into white dwarfs.
As the stars' outer layers disperse and the cores collapse, they undergo a transformative journey from red giants to cooling white dwarfs, leaving behind a remnant encircled by gas and dust envelopes.
The study of TMTS J0526 not only offers insight into the fascinating dynamics of binary systems but also provides a glimpse into the intricate mechanisms underlying the evolution of stars in our universe.
