Modeling contact binaries, II. The effect of energy transfer

Abstract

Context. It is common for massive stars to engage in binary interaction. In close binaries, the components can enter a contact phase, where both stars overflow their respective Roche lobes simultaneously. While there exist observational constraints on the stellar properties of such systems, the most detailed stellar evolution models that feature a contact phase are not fully reconcilable with those measurements. Aims. We aim to consistently model contact phases of binary stars in a 1D stellar evolution code. To this end, we develop the methodology to account for energy transfer in the common contact layers. Methods. We implement an approximative model for energy transfer between the components of a contact binary based on the von Zeipel theorem in the stellar evolution code MESA. We compare structure and evolution models with and without this transfer and analyze the implications for the observable properties of the contact phase. Results. Implementing energy transfer helps eliminating baroclinicity in the common envelope between the components of a contact binary, which, if present, would drive strong thermal flows. We find that accounting for energy transfer in massive contact binaries significantly alters the mass ratio evolution and can extend the lifetime of an unequal mass ratio contact system.

arXiv comment11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to A&A

References in corpus (43)

• The chemical composition of the Sun
• 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
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Convective Boundaries, Element Diffusion, and Massive Star Explosions
• Evolution of binary stars and the effect of tides on binary populations
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Pulsating Variable Stars, Rotation, Convective Boundaries, and Energy Conservation
• Mass-loss predictions for O and B stars as a function of metallicity
• Low Temperature Opacities
• Rotating Massive Main-Sequence Stars I: Grids of Evolutionary Models and Isochrones
• Shell-model calculations of stellar weak interaction rates: II. Weak rates for nuclei in the mass range A=45-65 in supernovae environment
• A new route towards merging massive black holes
• Evolution of rapidly rotating metal-poor massive stars towards gamma-ray bursts
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Time-Dependent Convection, Energy Conservation, Automatic Differentiation, and Infrastructure
• Merging binary black holes formed through chemically homogeneous evolution in short-period stellar binaries
• Single star progenitors of long gamma-ray bursts I: Model grids and redshift dependent GRB rate
• Updated Electron-Conduction Opacities: The Impact on Low-Mass Stellar Models
• The incidence of stellar mergers and mass gainers among massive stars
• The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey I: Introduction and observational overview
• How mergers magnetise massive stars
• Thermodynamic functions of dense plasmas: analytic approximations for astrophysical applications
• The MiMeS survey of magnetism in massive stars: Magnetic analysis of the O-type stars
• Coulomb tunneling for fusion reactions in dense matter: Path integral Monte Carlo versus mean field
• The role of mass transfer and common envelope evolution in the formation of merging binary black holes
• The Eddington factor as the key to understand the winds of the most massive stars. Evidence for a Gamma-dependence of Wolf-Rayet type mass loss
• The evolution of rotating very massive stars with LMC composition
• Rejuvenation of stellar mergers and the origin of magnetic fields in massive stars
• Constraining mixing in massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Skye: A Differentiable Equation of State
• B fields in OB stars (BOB): low-resolution FORS2 spectropolarimetry of the first sample of 50 massive stars
• The Most Magnetic Stars
• Related progenitor models for long-duration gamma ray bursts and Type Ic superluminous supernovae
• Detailed models of interacting short-period massive binary stars
• Rosseland and flux mean opacities for Compton scattering
• New Conductive Opacities for White Dwarf Envelopes
• Pre-collapse Properties of Superluminous Supernovae and Long Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor Models
• The Tarantula Massive Binary Monitoring. IV. Double-lined photometric binaries
• The structure of contact binaries
• Constraining the Overcontact Phase in Massive Binary Evolution I. Mixing in V382 Cyg, VFTS 352, and OGLE SMC-SC10 108086
• Modeling overcontact binaries, I. The effect of tidal deformation
• MY Camelopardalis, a very massive merger progenitor
• The massive multiple system HD 64315

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Mode identification and ensemble asteroseismology of 119 $\beta$ Cep stars detected by Gaia light curves and monitored by TESS
• Whispering in the dark: Faint X-ray emission from black holes with OB star companions
• Modeling contact binaries, III. Properties of a population of close, massive binaries
• BH-BH mergers with & without EM counterpart: A model for stable tertiary mass transfer in hierarchical triple systems
• Prompt stellar and binary black hole mergers in tight triples: Insights from chemically homogeneous evolution
• A Low Metallicity Massive Contact Binary Star System Candidate in WLM identified by Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope imaging
• A new sample of massive B-type contact binary candidates from the OGLE survey of the Magellanic Clouds
• BSN-VII: Photometric Light Curve Study of Three Cool, Large-Amplitude, Low Mass, W-Subtype Contact Binaries