Observational identification of a sample of likely recent Common-Envelope Events

Abstract

One of the most poorly understood stellar evolutionary paths is that of binary systems undergoing common-envelope evolution, when the envelope of a giant star engulfs the orbit of a companion. Although this interaction leads to a great variety of astrophysical systems, direct empirical studies are difficult because few objects experiencing common-envelope evolution are known. We present ALMA observations towards sources known as water fountains that reveal they had low initial masses ($<4{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$) and ejected a significant fraction of it over less than a few hundred years. The only mechanism able to explain such rapid mass ejection is common-envelope evolution. Our calculations show that the water-fountain sample accounts for a large fraction of the systems in our Galaxy which have just experienced the common-envelope phase. Since water-fountain sources show characteristic fast bipolar outflows, outflows and jets likely play an important role right before, during or immediately after the common-envelope phase.

Published on Nature Astronomy on Dec 16, 2021: https://rdcu.be/cDlX8

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Evolution of the outflow in the water fountain source IRAS 18043$-$2116
• Searching for nascent planetary nebulae: OHPNe candidates in the SPLASH survey
• Polarisation of molecular lines in the circumstellar envelope of the post-Asymptotic Giant Branch star OH 17.7-2.0
• Detection of Ubiquitous Circumbinary Matter in Hot Subdwarfs Formed from Common-Envelope Ejections
• ALMA observations of CO isotopologues towards six obscured post-AGB stars