The Most Massive Heartbeat: An In-depth Analysis of ι Orionis

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 (P orb = 29.13376 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 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 $\approx 4\times 10^4$ .

arXiv comment11 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, in press

References in corpus (31)

• emcee: The MCMC Hammer
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA)
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Giant Planets, Oscillations, Rotation, and Massive Stars
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Binaries, Pulsations, and Explosions
• Binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars
• A new calibration of stellar parameters of Galactic O stars
• A Computational Guide to Physics of Eclipsing Binaries. Paper I. Demonstrations and Perspectives
• Southern Massive Stars at High Angular Resolution: Observational Campaign and Companion Detection
• GYRE: An open-source stellar oscillation code based on a new Magnus Multiple Shooting Scheme
• BRITE-Constellation: nanosatellites for precision photometry of bright stars
• A Class of Eccentric Binaries with Dynamic Tidal Distortions Discovered with Kepler
• KOI-54: The Kepler Discovery of Tidally-Excited Pulsations and Brightenings in a Highly Eccentric Binary
• The interior rotation of a sample of gamma Doradus stars from ensemble modelling of their gravity mode period spacings
• KIC 4544587: an Eccentric, Short Period Binary System with delta Sct Pulsations and Tidally Excited Modes
• Dynamical Tides in Eccentric Binaries and Tidally-Excited Stellar Pulsations in KEPLER KOI-54
• Tidal asteroseismology: Kepler's KOI-54
• The Multiplicity of Massive Stars: A High Angular Resolution Survey with the HST Fine Guidance Sensor
• Fundamental properties of nearby single early B-type stars
• The BRITE Constellation nanosatellite mission: Testing, commissioning and operations
• HD 174884: a strongly eccentric, short-period early-type binary system discovered by CoRoT
• Radial velocity monitoring of Kepler heartbeat stars
• Massive pulsating stars observed by BRITE-Constellation. I. The triple system Beta Centauri (Agena)
• Dynamical Tides in Compact White Dwarf Binaries: Influence of Rotation
• Kepler's first view of O-star variability: K2 data of five O stars in Campaign 0 as a proof-of-concept for O-star asteroseismology
• Orbital Decay of the PSR J0045-7319/B Star Binary System: Age of Radio Pulsar and Initial Spin of Neutron Star
• Tidally Induced Pulsations in Kepler Eclipsing Binary KIC 3230227
• Dynamical resonance locking in tidally interacting binary systems
• It takes a village to raise a tide: nonlinear multiple-mode coupling and mode identification in KOI-54
• HD 46375: seismic and spectropolarimetric analysis of a young Sun hosting a Saturn-like planet
• A Coordinated X-ray and Optical Campaign of the Nearest Massive Eclipsing Binary, delta Orionis Aa: III. Analysis of Optical Photometric MOST and Spectroscopic (Ground Based) Variations
• Preparing and correcting extracted BRITE observations

Cited by in corpus (31)

• Variability of OB stars from TESS southern Sectors 1-13 and high-resolution IACOB and OWN spectroscopy
• Diverse Variability of O and B Stars Revealed from 2-minute Cadence Light Curves in Sectors 1 and 2 of the TESS Mission: Selection of an Asteroseismic Sample
• BRITE-Constellation high-precision time-dependent photometry of the early-O-type supergiant $\zeta$ Puppis unveils the photospheric drivers of its small- and large-scale wind structures
• KIC 4142768: An Evolved Gamma Doradus/Delta Scuti Hybrid Pulsating Eclipsing Binary with Tidally Excited Oscillations
• Massive heartbeat stars from TESS. I. TESS sectors 1-16
• BRITE-Constellation: Data processing and photometry
• Gravity Modes Reveal the Internal Rotation of a Post-mass Transfer Gamma Doradus/Delta Scuti Hybrid Pulsator in Kepler Eclipsing Binary KIC 9592855
• The CubeSpec space mission. I. Asteroseismology of massive stars from time series optical spectroscopy: science requirements and target list prioritisation
• Tidally Excited Oscillations in Heartbeat Binary Stars: Pulsation Phases and Mode Identification
• Low-frequency photospheric and wind variability in the early-B supergiant HD 2905
• An Extreme Amplitude, Massive Heartbeat System in the LMC Characterized Using ASAS-SN and TESS
• Asteroseismology of massive stars with the TESS mission: the runaway Beta Cep pulsator PHL 346 = HN Aqr
• The Loudest Stellar Heartbeat: Characterizing the most extreme amplitude heartbeat star system
• $\epsilon$ Lupi: measuring the heartbeat of a doubly-magnetic massive binary with BRITE-Constellation
• A high-mass X-ray binary descended from an ultra-stripped supernova
• A New Window to Tidal Asteroseismology: Non-linearly Excited Stellar Eigenmodes and the Period Spacing Pattern in KOI-54
• Induced differential rotation and mixing in asynchronous binary stars
• Tidal Asteroseismology: Possible Evidence of Non-linear Mode Coupling in an Equilibrium State in Kepler Eclipsing Binary KIC 3230227
• BRITE-Constellation reveals evidence for pulsations in the enigmatic binary $\eta$ Carinae
• The ultra-hot-Jupiter KELT-16 b: Dynamical Evolution and Atmospheric Properties
• Modelling of the B-type binaries CW Cep and U Oph: A critical view on dynamical masses, core boundary mixing, and core mass
• Detection of intrinsic variability in the eclipsing massive main sequence O+B binary HD 165246
• Theoretical investigation of the occurrence of tidally excited oscillations in massive eccentric binary systems
• Space Photometry with BRITE-Constellation
• Five years of BRITE-Constellation photometry of the luminous blue variable P Cygni: properties of the stochastic low-frequency variability
• Strong Variability in AzV 493, an Extreme Oe-Type Star in the SMC
• One of Everything: The Breakthrough Listen Exotica Catalog
• Onboard Dynamic Image Exposure Control for the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)
• GG Carinae: Discovery of orbital phase dependent 1.583-day periodicities in the B[e] supergiant binary
• Detailed Characterization of Heartbeat Stars and their Tidally Excited Oscillations
• Apsidal motion and proximity effects in the massive binary BD+60 497