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G. Pietrzynski

Publications and source records attributed to G. Pietrzynski.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Revisiting candidates for non-pulsating stars located in the Cepheid instability strip in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We analyzed photometric and spectroscopic data for 11 candidates for non-pulsating stars located in the Cepheid instability strip (IS) of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in order to investigate the reasons for the lack of pulsations. We used available temperature calibrations based on photometric colors to estimate the effective temperatures of the candidates, which served as initial parameters for the spectroscopic analysis. We also applied surface brightness-color relations calibrated for Cepheid variables, giants, and supergiants to estimate stellar radii. The spectral analysis was performed using the spectral synthesis method to determine the atmospheric parameters; namely, the effective temperature, metallicity, surface gravity, microturbulent velocity, projected rotational velocity, and chemical abundances for up to ~30 elements. For most objects, only a single spectrum was available. However, no significant variations in radial velocities were detected among the stars with repeat observations; therefore, all stars were treated as single object in the analysis. Two stars exhibit broad spectral lines, which may indicate high rotational velocities or possible binarity; however, additional spectra are required to confirm this interpretation. One of these objects also shows asymmetric line profiles, which might be related to the presence of non-radial pulsation modes causing line-shape variations. A common feature among all analyzed candidates is an enhancement of barium-peak s-process elements compared to solar values. This may indicate past mass transfer from a companion during its post-asymptotic giant branch phase. This study provides an insight into the physical parameters of candidates for non-pulsating stars residing within the Cepheid IS in the LMC, although the lack of pulsations remains a mystery and challenges pulsation theory.

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Period-Luminosity Relations for Galactic Type II Cepheids in the Sloan bands

Type II Cepheids (T2Ceps), alongside RR Lyrae stars, serve as important distance indicators for old population II stars due to their period-luminosity (PL) relations. However, studies of these relations in the Sloan photometric system are rather limited in the literature. Our goal is to calibrate PL relations (and their counterparts in Wesenheit magnitudes) in the Sloan-Pan-STARRS gP1rP1iP1 bands for Galactic T2Ceps located in the vicinity of the Sun. We collected data for 16 T2Ceps of the BLHer type and 17 of the WVir type using 40 cm telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. Geometric parallaxes were adopted from Gaia Data Release 3. We have calibrated PL and period-Wesenheit relations for Milky Way BLHer and WVir stars in the solar neighborhood, as well as for a combined sample of both types. The relationships derived here will allow to determine the distances to T2Ceps that will be discovered by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time survey and, in turn, to probe the extended halo of the Milky Way, as well as the halos of nearby galaxies. To the best of our knowledge, the relations derived in this study are the first for Milky Way T2Ceps in the Sloan bands.

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Period-luminosity and period-luminosity-metallicity relations for Galactic RR Lyrae stars in the Sloan bands

RR Lyrae stars are excellent tracers of the old population II due to their period-luminosity (PL) and period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) relations. While these relations have been investigated in detail in many photometric bands, there are few comprehensive studies about them in Sloan-like systems. We present PL and PLZ relations (as well as their counterparts in Wesenheit magnitudes) in the Sloan-Pan-STARSS gP1rP1iP1 bands obtained for Galactic RR Lyrae stars in the vincinity of the Sun. The data used in this paper were collected with the network of 40 cm telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory, and geometric parallaxes were adopted from Gaia Data Release 3. We derived PL and PLZ relations separately for RRab and RRc-type stars, as well as for the mixed population of RRab+RRc stars. To our knowledge, these are the first PL and PLZ relations in the Sloan bands determined using RR Lyrae stars in the Galactic field.

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The orbital parameters of the del Cep inner binary system determined using 2019 HARPS-N spectroscopic data

An inner companion has recently been discovered orbiting the prototype of classical Cepheids, delta Cep, whose orbital parameters are still not fully constrained. We collected new precise radial velocity measurements of delta Cep in 2019 using the HARPS-N spectrograph mounted at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. Using these radial velocity measurements, we aimed to improve the orbital parameters of the system. We considered a template available in the literature as a reference for the radial velocity curve of the pulsation of the star. We then calculated the residuals between our global dataset (composed of the new 2019 observations plus data from the literature) and the template as a function of the pulsation phase and the barycentric Julian date. This provides the orbital velocity of the Cepheid component. Using a Bayesian tool, we derived the orbital parameters of the system. Considering priors based on already published Gaia constraints, we find for the orbital period a maximum a posteriori probability of Porb=9.32+/-0.03 years (uncertainties correspond to the 95% highest density probability interval), and we obtain an eccentricity e=0.71+/-0.02, a semimajor axis a=0.029 +/-0.003 arcsecond, and a center-of-mass velocity V0=-17.28+/-0.08 km/s, among other parameters. In this short analysis we derive the orbital parameters of the delta Cep inner binary system and provide a cleaned radial velocity curve of the pulsation of the star, which will be used to study its Baade-Wesselink projection factor in a future publication.

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HARPS-N high spectral resolution observations of Cepheids II. The impact of the surface-brightness color relation on the Baade-Wesselink projection factor of eta Aql

The Baade-Wesselink (BW) method of distance determination of Cepheids is used to calibrate the distance scale. Various versions of this method are mainly based on interferometry and/or the surface-brightness color relation (SBCR). We quantify the impact of the SBCR, its slope, and its zeropoint on the projection factor. This quantity is used to convert the pulsation velocity into the radial velocity in the BW method. We also study the impact of extinction and of a potential circumstellar environment on the projection factor. We analyzed HARPS-N spectra of eta Aql to derive its radial velocity curve using different methods. We then applied the inverse BW method using various SBCRs in the literature in order to derive the BW projection factor. We find that the choice of the SBCR is critical: a scatter of about 8% is found in the projection factor for different SBCRs in the literature. The uncertainty on the coefficients of the SBCR affects the statistical precision of the projection factor only little (1-2\%). Confirming previous studies, we find that the method with which the radial velocity curve is derived is also critical, with a potential difference on the projection factor of 9%. An increase of 0.1 in E(B-V) translates into a decrease in the projection factor of 3%. A 0.1 magnitude effect of a circumstellar envelope (CSE) in the visible domain is rather small on the projection factor, about 1.5%. However, we find that a 0.1 mag infrared excess in the K band due to a CSE can increase the projection factor by about 6%. The impact of the surface-brightness color relation on the BW projection factor is found to be critical. Efforts should be devoted in the future to improve the SBCR of Cepheids empirically, but also theoretically, taking their CSE into account as well.

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Calibrating the surface brightness - color relation for late-type red giants stars in the visible domain using VEGA/CHARA interferometric observations

The surface brightness - color relationship (SBCR) is a poweful tool for determining the angular diameter of stars from photometry. It was for instance used to derive the distance of eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which led to its distance determination with an accuracy of 1%. We calibrate the SBCR for red giant stars in the 2.1 < V-K < 2.5 color range using homogeneous VEGA/CHARA interferometric data secured in the visible domain, and compare it to the relation based on infrared interferometric observations, which were used to derive the distance to the LMC. Observations of eight G-K giants were obtained with the VEGA/CHARA instrument. The derived limb-darkened angular diameters were combined with a homogeneous set of infrared magnitudes in order to constrain the SBCR. The average precision we obtain on the limb-darkened angular diameters of the eight stars in our sample is 2.4%. For the four stars in common observed by both VEGA/CHARA and PIONIER/VLTI, we find a 1 sigma agreement for the angular diameters. The SBCR we obtain in the visible has a dispersion of 0.04 magnitude and is consistent with the one derived in the infrared (0.018 magnitude). The consistency of the infrared and visible angular diameters and SBCR reinforces the result of 1% precision and accuracy recently achieved on the distance of the LMC using the eclipsing-binary technique. It also indicates that it is possible to combine interferometric observations at different wavelengths when the SBCR is calibrated.

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A thin shell of ionized gas explaining the IR excess of classical Cepheids

Despite observational evidences, InfraRed (IR) excess of classical Cepheids are seldom studied and poorly understood, but probably induces systematics on the Period-Luminosity (PL) relation used in the calibration of the extragalactic distance scale. This study aims to understand the physical origin of the IR excess found in the spectral energy distribution (SED) of 5 Cepheids : RS Pup (P=41.46d), zeta Gem (P=10.15d), eta Aql (P=7.18d), V Cen (P=5.49d) and SU Cyg (P=3.85d). A time series of atmospheric models along the pulsation cycle are fitted to a compilation of data, including optical and near-IR photometry, Spitzer spectra (secured at a specific phase), interferometric angular diameters, effective temperature and radial velocity measurements. Herschel images in two bands are also analyzed qualitatively. In this fitting process, based on the SPIPS algorithm, a residual is found in the SED, whatever the pulsation phase, and for wavelengths larger than about $1.2μ$m, which corresponds to the so-determined infrared excess of Cepheids. This IR excess is then corrected from interstellar medium absorption in order to infer or not the presence of dust shells, and is finally used in order to fit a model of a shell of ionized gas. For all Cepheids, we find a continuum IR excess increasing up to about -0.1 magnitudes at 30$μ$m, which cannot be explained by a hot or cold dust model of CircumStellar Environment (CSE). We show, for the first time, that the IR excess of Cepheids can be explained by free-free emission from a thin shell of ionized gas, with a thickness of about 15% of the star radius, a mass of $10^{-9}-10^{-7}$ Msol and a temperature ranging from 3500 to 4500K. This result has to be tested with interferometers operating in visible, in the mid-IR or in the radio domain. The impact of such CSEs of ionized gas on the PL relation of Cepheids needs also more investigations.

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Multiplicity of Galactic Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars from Gaia DR2 -- II. Resolved common proper motion pairs

Context. The multiplicity of classical Cepheids (CCs) and RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) is still imperfectly known, particularly for RRLs. Aims. In order to complement the close-in short orbital period systems presented in Paper I, our aim is to detect the wide, spatially resolved companions of the targets of our reference samples of Galactic CCs and RRLs. Methods. Angularly resolved common proper motion pairs were detected using a simple progressive selection algorithm to separate the most probable candidate companions from the unrelated field stars. Results. We found 27 resolved, high probability gravitationally bound systems with CCs out of 456 examined stars, and one unbound star embedded in the circumstellar dusty nebula of the long-period Cepheid RS Pup. We found seven spatially resolved, probably bound systems with RRL primaries out of 789 investigated stars, and 22 additional candidate pairs. We report in particular new companions of three bright RRLs: OV And (companion of F4V spectral type), RR Leo (M0V), and SS Oct (K2V). In addition, we discovered resolved companions of 14 stars that were likely misclassified as RRLs. Conclusions. The detection of resolved non-variable companions around CCs and RRLs facilitates the validation of their Gaia DR2 parallaxes. The possibility to conduct a detailed analysis of the resolved coeval companions of CCs and old population RRLs will also be valuable to progress on our understanding of their evolutionary path.

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A distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud that is precise to one per cent

In the era of precision cosmology, it is essential to empirically determine the Hubble constant with an accuracy of one per cent or better. At present, the uncertainty on this constant is dominated by the uncertainty in the calibration of the Cepheid period - luminosity relationship (also known as Leavitt Law). The Large Magellanic Cloud has traditionally served as the best galaxy with which to calibrate Cepheid period-luminosity relations, and as a result has become the best anchor point for the cosmic distance scale. Eclipsing binary systems composed of late-type stars offer the most precise and accurate way to measure the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud. Currently the limit of the precision attainable with this technique is about two per cent, and is set by the precision of the existing calibrations of the surface brightness - colour relation. Here we report the calibration of the surface brightness-colour relation with a precision of 0.8 per cent. We use this calibration to determine the geometrical distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud that is precise to 1 per cent based on 20 eclipsing binary systems. The final distane is 49.59 +/- 0.09 (statistical) +/- 0.54 (systematic) kiloparsecs.

astro-ph.GA

Multiplicity of Galactic Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars from Gaia DR2 - I. Binarity from proper motion anomaly

Classical Cepheids (CCs) and RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) are important classes of variable stars used as standard candles to estimate galactic and extragalactic distances. Their multiplicity is imperfectly known, particularly for RRLs. Astoundingly, to date only one RRL has convincingly been demonstrated to be a binary, TU UMa, out of tens of thousands of known RRLs. Our aim is to detect the binary and multiple stars present in a sample of Milky Way CCs and RRLs. In the present article, we combine the Hipparcos and Gaia DR2 positions to determine the mean proper motion of the targets, and we search for proper motion anomalies (PMa) caused by close-in orbiting companions. We identify 57 CC binaries from PMa out of 254 tested stars and 75 additional candidates, confirming the high binary fraction of these massive stars. For 28 binary CCs, we determine the companion mass by combining their spectroscopic orbital parameters and astrometric PMa. We detect 13 RRLs showing a significant PMa out of 198 tested stars, and 61 additional candidates. We determine that the binary fraction of CCs is likely above 80%, while that of RRLs is at least 7%. The newly detected systems will be useful to improve our understanding of their evolutionary states. The discovery of a significant number of RRLs in binary systems also resolves the long-standing mystery of their extremely low apparent binary fraction.

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A geometrical 1% distance to the short-period binary Cepheid V1334 Cygni

Cepheid stars play a considerable role as extragalactic distances indicators, thanks to the simple empirical relation between their pulsation period and their luminosity. They overlap with that of secondary distance indicators, such as Type Ia supernovae, whose distance scale is tied to Cepheid luminosities. However, the Period-Luminosity (P-L) relation still lacks a calibration to better than 5%. Using an original combination of interferometric astrometry with optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy, we measured the geometrical distance d = 720.35+/-7.84 pc of the 3.33 d period Cepheid V1334 Cyg with an unprecedented accuracy of +/-1 %, providing the most accurate distance for a Cepheid. Placing this star in the P-L diagram provides an independent test of existing period-luminosity relations. We show that the secondary star has a significant impact on the integrated magnitude, particularly at visible wavelengths. Binarity in future high precision calibrations of the P-L relations is not negligible, at least in the short-period regime. Subtracting the companion flux leaves V1334 Cyg in marginal agreement with existing photometric-based P-L relations, indicating either an overall calibration bias or a significant intrinsic dispersion at a few percent level. Our work also enabled us to determine the dynamical masses of both components, M1 = 4.288 +/- 0.133 Msun (Cepheid) and M2 = 4.040 +/- 0.048 Msun (companion), providing the most accurate masses for a Galactic binary Cepheid system.

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CRIRES high-resolution infrared spectroscopy of the long-period Cepheid l Car

The dynamical structure of the atmosphere of Cepheids has been well studied in the optical. Several authors have found very interesting spectral features in the J band, but little data have been secured beyond 1.6 um. However, such observations can probe different radial velocities and line asymmetry regimes, and are able to provide crucial insights into stellar physics. Our goal was to investigate the infrared line-forming region in the K-band domain, and its impact on the projection factor and the k-term of Cepheids. We secured CRIRES observations for the long-period Cepheid l Car, with a focus on the unblended spectral line NaI2208.969 nm. We measured the corresponding radial velocities (by using the first moment method) and the line asymmetries (by using the bi-Gaussian method). These quantities are compared to the HARPS visible spectra we previously obtained on l Car. The optical and infrared radial velocity curves show the same amplitude (only about 3% of difference), with a slight radial velocity shift of about 0.5 +/- 0.3 km s^-1 between the two curves. Around the minimum radius (phase ~ 0.9) the visible radial velocity curve is found in advance compared to the infrared one (phase lag), which is consistent with an infrared line forming higher in the atmosphere (compared to the visible line) and with a compression wave moving from the bottom to the top of the atmosphere during maximum outward velocity. The asymmetry of the K-band line is also found to be significantly different from that of the optical line.

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Observational calibration of the projection factor of Cepheids IV. Period-projection factor relation of Galactic and Magellanic Cloud Cepheids

We focus on empirically measure the p-factor of a homogeneous sample of 29 LMC and 10 SMC Cepheids for which an accurate average LMC/SMC distance were estimated from eclipsing binary systems. We used the SPIPS algorithm, which is an implementation of the BW method. As opposed to other conventional use, SPIPS combines all observables, i.e. radial velocities, multi-band photometry and interferometry into a consistent physical modeling to estimate the parameters of the stars. The large number and their redundancy insure its robustness and improves the statistical precision. We successfully estimated the p-factor of several MC Cepheids. Combined with our previous Galactic results, we find the following P-p relation: -0.08(log P-1.18)+1.24. We find no evidence of a metallicity dependent p-factor. We also derive a new calibration of the P-R relation, logR=0.684(log P-0.517)+1.489, with an intrinsic dispersion of 0.020. We detect an IR excess for all stars at 3.6 and 4.5um, which might be the signature of circumstellar dust. We measure a mean offset of $Δm_{3.6}=0.057$mag and $Δm_{4.5}=0.065$mag. We provide a new P-p relation based on a multi-wavelengths fit, and can be used for the distance scale calibration from the BW method. The dispersion is due to the MCs width we took into account because individual Cepheids distances are unknown. The new P-R relation has a small intrinsic dispersion, i.e. 4.5% in radius. Such precision will allow us to accurately apply the BW method to nearby galaxies. Finally, the IR excesses we detect raise again the issue on using mid-IR wavelengths to derive P-L relation and calibrate the $H_0$. These IR excesses might be the signature of circumstellar dust, and are never taken into account when applying the BW method at those wavelengths. Our measured offsets may give an average bias of 2.8% on the distances derived through mid-IR P-L relations.

astro-ph.SR

Four years' interferometric observations of Galactic binary Cepheids

We give an update on our long-term program of Galactic Cepheids started in 2012, whose goal is to measure the visual orbits of Cepheid companions. Using the VLTI/PIONIER and CHARA/MIRC instruments, we have now detected several com- panions, and we already have a good orbital coverage for several of them. By combining interferometry and radial velocities, we can now derive all the orbital elements of the systems, and we will be soon able to estimate the Cepheid masses.

astro-ph.SR

LMC Blue Supergiant Stars and the Calibration of the Flux-weighted Gravity--Luminosity Relationship

High quality spectra of 90 blue supergiant stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud are analyzed with respect to effective temperature, gravity, metallicity, reddening, extinction and extinction law. An average metallicity, based on Fe and Mg abundances, relative to the Sun of [Z] = -0.35 +/- 0.09 dex is obtained. The reddening distribution peaks at E(B-V) = 0.08 mag, but significantly larger values are also encountered. A wide distribution of the ratio of extinction to reddening is found ranging from Rv = 2 to 6. The results are used to investigate the blue supergiant relationship between flux-weighted gravity, and absolute bolometric magnitude. The existence of a tight relationship, the FGLR, is confirmed. However, in contrast to previous work the observations reveal that the FGLR is divided into two parts with a different slope. For flux-weighted gravities larger than 1.30 dex the slope is similar as found in previous work, but the relationship becomes significantly steeper for smaller values of the flux-weighted gravity. A new calibration of the FGLR for extragalactic distance determinations is provided.

astro-ph.SR

HARPS-N high spectral resolution observations of Cepheids I. The Baade-Wesselink projection factor of δ Cep revisited

The projection factor p is the key quantity used in the Baade-Wesselink (BW) method for distance determination; it converts radial velocities into pulsation velocities. Several methods are used to determine p, such as geometrical and hydrodynamical models or the inverse BW approach when the distance is known. We analyze new HARPS-N spectra of delta Cep to measure its cycle-averaged atmospheric velocity gradient in order to better constrain the projection factor. We first apply the inverse BW method to derive p directly from observations. The projection factor can be divided into three subconcepts: (1) a geometrical effect (p0); (2) the velocity gradient within the atmosphere (fgrad); and (3) the relative motion of the optical pulsating photosphere with respect to the corresponding mass elements (fo-g). We then measure the fgrad value of delta Cep for the first time. When the HARPS-N mean cross-correlated line-profiles are fitted with a Gaussian profile, the projection factor is pcc-g = 1.239 +/- 0.034(stat) +/- 0.023(syst). When we consider the different amplitudes of the radial velocity curves that are associated with 17 selected spectral lines, we measure projection factors ranging from 1.273 to 1.329. We find a relation between fgrad and the line depth measured when the Cepheid is at minimum radius. This relation is consistent with that obtained from our best hydrodynamical model of delta Cep and with our projection factor decomposition. Using the observational values of p and fgrad found for the 17 spectral lines, we derive a semi-theoretical value of fo-g. We alternatively obtain fo-g = 0.975+/-0.002 or 1.006+/-0.002 assuming models using radiative transfer in plane-parallel or spherically symmetric geometries, respectively. The new HARPS-N observations of delta Cep are consistent with our decomposition of the projection factor.

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VEGA/CHARA interferometric observations of Cepheids. I. A resolved structure around the prototype classical Cepheid delta Cep in the visible spectral range

The B-W method is used to determine the distance of Cepheids and consists in combining the angular size variations of the star, as derived from infrared surface-brightness relations or interferometry, with its linear size variation, as deduced from visible spectroscopy using the projection factor. While many Cepheids have been intensively observed by infrared beam combiners, only a few have been observed in the visible. This paper is part of a project to observe Cepheids in the visible with interferometry as a counterpart to infrared observations already in hand. Observations of delta Cep itself were secured with the VEGA/CHARA instrument over the full pulsation cycle of the star. These visible interferometric data are consistent in first approximation with a quasi-hydrostatic model of pulsation surrounded by a static circumstellar environment (CSE) with a size of theta_cse=8.9 +/- 3.0 mas and a relative flux contribution of f_cse=0.07+/-0.01. A model of visible nebula (a background source filling the field of view of the interferometer) with the same relative flux contribution is also consistent with our data at small spatial frequencies. However, in both cases, we find discrepancies in the squared visibilities at high spatial frequencies (maximum 2sigma) with two different regimes over the pulsation cycle of the star, phi=0.0-0.8 and phi=0.8-1.0. We provide several hypotheses to explain these discrepancies, but more observations and theoretical investigations are necessary before a firm conclusion can be drawn. For the first time we have been able to detect in the visible domain a resolved structure around delta~Cep. We have also shown that a simple model cannot explain the observations, and more work will be necessary in the future, both on observations and modelling.

astro-ph.SR

A solar twin in the eclipsing binary LL Aqr

In the course of a project to study eclipsing binary stars in vinicity of the Sun, we found that the cooler component of LL Aqr is a solar twin candidate. This is the first known star with properties of a solar twin existing in a non-interacting eclipsing binary, offering an excellent opportunity to fully characterise its physical properties with very high precision. We used extensive multi-band, archival photometry and the Super-WASP project and high-resolution spectroscopy obtained from the HARPS and CORALIE spectrographs. The spectra of both components were decomposed and a detailed LTE abundance analysis was performed. The light and radial velocity curves were simultanously analysed with the Wilson-Devinney code. The resulting highly precise stellar parameters were used for a detailed comparison with PARSEC, MESA, and GARSTEC stellar evolution models. LL Aqr consists of two main-sequence stars (F9 V + G3 V) with masses of M1 = 1.1949$\pm$0.0007 and M2=1.0337$\pm$0.0007 $M_\odot$, radii R1 = 1.321$\pm$0.006 and R2 = 1.002$\pm$0.005 $R_\odot$, temperatures T1=6080$\pm$45 K and T2=5703$\pm$50 K and solar chemical composition [M/H]=0.02$\pm$0.05 dex. The absolute dimensions, radiative and photometric properties, and atmospheric abundances of the secondary are all fully consistent with being a solar twin. Both stars are cooler by about 3.5 $σ$ or less metal abundant by 5$σ$ than predicted by standard sets of stellar evolution models. When advanced modelling was performed, we found that full agreement with observations can only be obtained for values of the mixing length and envelope overshooting parameters that are hard to accept. The most reasonable and physically justified model fits found with MESA and GARSTEC codes still have discrepancies with observations but only at the level of 1$σ$.

astro-ph.SR