paper

Detection of hot subdwarf binaries and sdB stars using machine learning methods and a large sample of Gaia XP spectra

arXiv:2601.21727 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202558282

Abstract

Hot subdwarfs (hot sds) are compact, evolved stars near the Extreme Horizontal Branch (EHB) and are key to understanding stellar evolution and the ultraviolet excess in galaxies. We extend our previous analysis of Gaia XP spectra of hot subdwarf stars to a much larger sample, enabling a comprehensive study of their physical and binary properties. Our goal is to identify patterns in Gaia XP spectra, investigate binarity, and assess the influence of parameters such as temperature, helium abundance, and variability. We analyse approximately 20000 hot subdwarf candidates selected from the literature, combining Gaia XP data with published parameters. We apply Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) to the XP coefficients, which represent the Gaia XP spectra in a compact, feature-based form, to construct a similarity map. We then use self-organizing maps (SOMs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to classify spectra as binaries or singles, and as cool and helium-poor or hot and helium-rich. The spectra are normalised using asymmetric least squares baseline fitting to emphasise individual spectral features. The BP-RP colour dominates the similarity map, with additional influence from temperature, helium abundance, and variability. Most binaries, identified via the Virtual Observatory SED Analyser (VOSA), cluster in two filaments linked to main sequence companions. CNN classification suggests a strong correlation between variability and binarity, with binary fractions exceeding 60 percent for active hot subdwarfs. Gaia XP spectra combined with dimensionality reduction and machine learning effectively reveal patterns in hot subdwarf properties. Our findings indicate that binarity and environmental density strongly shape the evolutionary paths of hot subdwarfs, and we identify possible contamination by main sequence and cataclysmic variable stars in the base sample.

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