arXiv subjects

Jim Fuller

Publications and source records attributed to Jim Fuller.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

On rapid binary mass transfer -- I. Physical model

In some semi-detached binary systems, the donor star may transfer mass to the companion at a very high rate. We propose that, at sufficiently high mass-transfer rates such that the accretion disk around the companion becomes geometrically thick (or advection-dominated) near the disk outer radius, a large fraction of the transferred mass will be lost through the outer Lagrangian (L2) point, as a result of the excessive energy generated by viscous heating that cannot be efficiently radiated away. A physical model is constructed where the L2 mass loss fraction is given by the requirement that the remaining material in the disk has Bernoulli number equal to the L2 potential energy. Our model predicts significant L2 mass loss at mass-transfer rates exceeding a few times 10^{-4} Msun/yr. An equatorial circum-binary outflow (CBO) is formed in these systems. Implications for the orbital evolution and the observational appearance are discussed. In particular, (1) rapid angular momentum loss from the system tends to shrink the orbit and hence may increase the formation rate of mergers and gravitational-wave sources; (2) photons from the hot disk wind are reprocessed by the CBO into longer wavelength emission in the infrared bands, consistent with Spitzer observations of some ultra-luminous X-ray sources.

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arXiv2023

A Sun-like star orbiting a black hole

We report discovery of a bright, nearby ($G = 13.8;\,\,d = 480\,\rm pc$) Sun-like star orbiting a dark object. We identified the system as a black hole candidate via its astrometric orbital solution from the Gaia mission. Radial velocities validated and refined the Gaia solution, and spectroscopy ruled out significant light contributions from another star. Joint modeling of radial velocities and astrometry constrains the companion mass to $M_2 = 9.62\pm 0.18\,M_{\odot}$. The spectroscopic orbit alone sets a minimum companion mass of $M_2>5\,M_{\odot}$; if the companion were a $5\,M_{\odot}$ star, it would be $500$ times more luminous than the entire system. These constraints are insensitive to the mass of the luminous star, which appears as a slowly-rotating G dwarf ($T_{\rm eff}=5850\,\rm K$, $\log g = 4.5$, $M=0.93\,M_{\odot}$), with near-solar metallicity ($\rm [Fe/H] = -0.2$) and an unremarkable abundance pattern. We find no plausible astrophysical scenario that can explain the orbit and does not involve a black hole. The orbital period, $P_{\rm orb}=185.6$ days, is longer than that of any known stellar-mass black hole binary. The system's modest eccentricity ($e=0.45$), high metallicity, and thin-disk Galactic orbit suggest that it was born in the Milky Way disk with at most a weak natal kick. How the system formed is uncertain. Common envelope evolution can only produce the system's wide orbit under extreme and likely unphysical assumptions. Formation models involving triples or dynamical assembly in an open cluster may be more promising. This is the nearest known black hole by a factor of 3, and its discovery suggests the existence of a sizable population of dormant black holes in binaries. Future Gaia releases will likely facilitate the discovery of dozens more.

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arXiv2023

Planet Engulfment Signatures in Twin Stars

Planet engulfment can be inferred from enhancement of refractory elements in the photosphere of the engulfing star following accretion of rocky planetary material. Such refractory enrichments are subject to stellar interior mixing processes, namely thermohaline mixing induced by an inverse mean-molecular-weight gradient between the convective envelope and radiative core. Using MESA stellar models, we quantified the strength and duration of engulfment signatures following planet engulfment. We found that thermohaline mixing dominates during the first $\sim$5$-$45 Myr post-engulfment, weakening signatures by a factor of $\sim$2 before giving way to depletion via gravitational settling on longer timescales. Solar metallicity stars in the 0.5-1.2 $M_{\odot}$ mass range have observable signature timescales of $\sim$1 Myr$-$8 Gyr, depending on the engulfing star mass and amount of material engulfed. Early type stars exhibit larger initial refractory enhancements but more rapid depletion. Solar-like stars ($M$ = 0.9$-$1.1 $M_{\odot}$) maintain observable signatures ($>$0.05 dex) over timescales of $\sim$20 Myr$-$1.7 Gyr for nominal 10 $M_{\oplus}$ engulfment events, with longer-lived signatures occurring for low-metallicity and/or hotter stars (1 $M_{\odot}$, $\sim$2$-$3 Gyr). Engulfment events occurring well after the zero-age main sequence produce larger signals due to suppression of thermohaline mixing by gravitational settling of helium (1 $M_{\odot}$, $\sim$1.5 Gyr). These results indicate that it may be difficult to observe engulfment signatures in solar-like stars that are several Gyr old.

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arXiv2023

Linking the Interiors and Surfaces of Magnetic Stars

Strong magnetic fields are observed in a substantial fraction of upper main sequence stars and white dwarfs. Many such stars are observed to exhibit photometric modulations as the magnetic poles rotate in and out of view, which could be a consequence of magnetic perturbations to the star's thermal structure. The magnetic pressure is typically larger than the gas pressure at the star's photosphere, but much smaller than the gas pressure in the star's interior, so the expected surface flux perturbations are not clear. We compute magnetically perturbed stellar structures of young $3 \, M_\odot$ stars that are in both hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium, and which contain both poloidal and toroidal components of a dipolar magnetic field as expected for stable fossil fields. This provides semi-analytical models of such fields in baroclinic stably stratified regions. The star's internal pressure, temperature, and flux perturbations can have a range of magnitudes, though we argue the most likely configurations exhibit flux perturbations much smaller than the ratio of surface magnetic pressure to surface gas pressure, but much larger than the ratio of surface magnetic pressure to central gas pressure. The magnetic pole is hotter than the equator in our models, but a cooler magnetic pole is possible depending on the magnetic field configuration. The expected flux variations for observed field strengths are $δL/L \! \lesssim \! 10^{-6}$, much smaller than those observed in magnetic stars, suggesting that observed perturbations stem from changes to the emergent spectrum rather than changes to the bolometric flux.

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arXiv2022

White dwarf binaries suggest a common envelope efficiency $α\sim 1/3$

Common envelope (CE) evolution, which is crucial in creating short period binaries and associated astrophysical events, can be constrained by reverse modeling of such binaries' formation histories. Through analysis of a sample of well-constrained white dwarf (WD) binaries with low-mass primaries (7 eclipsing double WDs, 2 non-eclipsing double WDs, 1 WD-brown dwarf), we estimate the CE energy efficiency $α_{\rm{CE}}$ needed to unbind the hydrogen envelope. We use grids of He- and CO-core WD models to determine the masses and cooling ages that match each primary WD's radius and temperature. Assuming gravitational wave-driven orbital decay, we then calculate the associated ranges in post-CE orbital period. By mapping WD models to a grid of red giant progenitor stars, we determine the total envelope binding energies and possible orbital periods at the point CE evolution is initiated, thereby constraining $α_{\rm CE}$. Assuming He-core WDs with progenitors of 0.9 - 2.0 $M_\odot$, we find $α_{\rm CE} \! \sim \! 0.2-0.4$ is consistent with each system we model. Significantly higher values of $α_{\rm{CE}}$ are required for higher mass progenitors and for CO-core WDs, so these scenarios are deemed unlikely. Our values are mostly consistent with previous studies of post-CE WD binaries, and they suggest a nearly constant and low envelope ejection efficiency for CE events that produce He-core WDs.

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arXiv2022

Extreme mass loss in low-mass type Ib/c supernova progenitors

Many core collapse supernovae (SNe) with hydrogen-poor and low-mass ejecta, such as ultra-stripped SNe and type Ibn SNe, are observed to interact with dense circumstellar material (CSM). These events likely arise from the core-collapse of helium stars which have been heavily stripped by a binary companion and ejected significant mass during the last weeks to years of their lives. In helium star models run to days before core-collapse, we identify a range of helium core masses $\approx 2.5 -3 M_{\odot}$ whose envelopes expand substantially due to helium shell burning while the core undergoes neon and oxygen burning. When modeled in binary systems, the rapid expansion of these helium stars induces extremely high rates of late-stage mass transfer ($\dot{M} \gtrsim 10^{-2} M_\odot/{\rm yr}$) beginning weeks to decades before core-collapse. We consider two scenarios for producing CSM in these systems: either mass transfer remains stable and mass loss is driven from the system in the vicinity of the accreting companion, or mass transfer becomes unstable and causes a common envelope event (CEE) through which the helium envelope is unbound. The ensuing CSM properties are consistent with the CSM masses ($\sim 10^{-2}-1 M_\odot$) and radii ($\sim 10^{13}-10^{16} {\rm cm}$) inferred for ultra-stripped SNe and several type Ibn SNe. Furthermore, systems that undergo a CEE could produce short-period NS binaries that merge in less than 100 Myr.

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arXiv2022

Magnetic braking saturates: evidence from the orbital period distribution of low-mass detached eclipsing binaries from ZTF

We constrain the orbital period ($P_{\rm orb}$) distribution of low-mass detached main-sequence eclipsing binaries (EBs) with light curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which provides a well-understood selection function and sensitivity to faint stars. At short periods ($P_{\rm orb}\lesssim 2$ days), binaries are predicted to evolve significantly due to magnetic braking (MB), which shrinks orbits and ultimately brings detached binaries into contact. The period distribution is thus a sensitive probe of MB. We find that the intrinsic period distribution of low-mass ($0.1\lesssim M_1/M_{\odot} < 0.9$) binaries is basically flat (${\rm d}N/{\rm d}P_{\rm orb} \propto P_{\rm orb}^0$), from $P_{\rm orb}=10$ days down to the contact limit. This is strongly inconsistent with predictions of classical MB models based on the Skumanich relation, which are widely used in binary evolution calculations and predict ${\rm d}N/{\rm d}P_{\rm orb} \propto P_{\rm orb}^{7/3}$ at short periods. The observed distributions are best reproduced by models in which the magnetic field saturates at short periods, with a MB torque that scales roughly as $\dot{J}\propto P_{\rm orb}^{-1}$, as opposed to $\dot{J} \propto P_{\rm orb}^{-3}$ in the standard Skumanich law. We also find no significant difference between the period distributions of binaries containing fully and partially convective stars. Our results confirm that a saturated MB law, which was previously found to describe the spin-down of rapidly rotating isolated M dwarfs, also operates in tidally locked binaries. We advocate using saturated MB models in binary evolution calculations. Our work supports previous suggestions that MB in cataclysmic variables (CVs) is much weaker than assumed in the standard evolutionary model, unless mass transfer leads to significant additional angular momentum loss in CVs.

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arXiv2022

A dense $\mathbf{0.1 M_{\rm \odot}}$ star in a 51-minute orbital period eclipsing binary

In over a thousand known cataclysmic variables (CVs), where a white dwarf is accreting from a hydrogen-rich star, only a dozen have orbital periods below 75 minutes. One way to achieve these short periods requires the donor star to have undergone substantial nuclear evolution prior to interacting with the white dwarf, and it is expected that these objects will transition to helium accretion. These transitional CVs have been proposed as progenitors of helium CVs. However, no known transitional CV is expected to reach an orbital period short enough to account for most of the helium CV population, leaving the role of this evolutionary pathway unclear. Here we report observations of ZTF J1813+4251, a 51-minute orbital period, fully eclipsing binary system consisting of a star with a temperature comparable to that of the Sun but a density 100 times greater due to its helium-rich composition, accreting onto a white dwarf. Phase-resolved spectra, multi-band light curves and the broadband spectral energy distribution allow us to obtain precise and robust constraints on the masses, radii and temperatures of both components. Evolutionary modeling shows that ZTF J1813+4251 is destined to become a helium CV binary, reaching an orbital period under 20 minutes, rendering ZTF J1813+4251 a previously missing link between helium CV binaries and hydrogen-rich CVs.

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arXiv2022

Impacts of zonal winds on planetary oscillations and Saturn ring seismology

The excitation of density and bending waves in Saturn's C ring by planetary oscillation modes presents a unique opportunity to learn about gas giant interiors and rotation. However, theoretical complications related to Saturn's rapid and differential rotation pose a barrier to the full utilization of ring wave detections. We calculate oscillation modes using a complete, non-perturbative treatment of differential rotation modelled after Saturn's zonal winds in self-consistently computed, polytropic equilibria. We find that previous, approximate treatments of the effects of differential rotation in Saturn overestimate shifts in the frequencies of fundamental modes (f-modes) thought to be responsible for the majority of the waves detected in the C ring, due to an omitted modification of the equilibrium shape and structure of the planet by differential rotation. The bias introduced by these frequency overestimates is small, but significant relative to the uncertainties afforded by Cassini data. We additionally consider the non-perturbative effects of Saturn-like differential rotation on the rotational mixing of f-modes and internal gravity modes (g-modes), which is relevant to detections of multiple density waves with very closely split pattern speeds. We find that higher order rotational effects can produce orders-of-magnitude enhancements in the surface gravitational perturbations of g-modes dominated by large spherical harmonic degrees $\ell$, regardless of frequency separation from the sectoral f-mode. Despite this enhancement, we find that the observed fine-splitting of density waves is unlikely to involve g-modes dominated by $\ell\gtrsim 10$. This restriction may aid in the inference of possible internal structures for Saturn.

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arXiv2022

Long-Term Lithium Abundance Signatures following Planetary Engulfment

Planetary engulfment events can occur while host stars are on the main sequence. The addition of rocky planetary material during engulfment will lead to refractory abundance enhancements in the host star photosphere, but the level of enrichment and its duration will depend on mixing processes that occur within the stellar interior, such as convection, diffusion, and thermohaline mixing. We examine engulfment signatures by modeling the evolution of photospheric lithium abundances. Because lithium can be burned before or after the engulfment event, it produces unique signatures that vary with time and host star type. Using MESA stellar models, we quantify the strength and duration of these signatures following the engulfment of a 1, 10, or 100 $M_{\oplus}$ planetary companion with bulk Earth composition, for solar-metallicity host stars with masses ranging from 0.5$-$1.4 $M_{\odot}$. We find that lithium is quickly depleted via burning in low-mass host stars ($\lesssim 0.7 \, M_\odot$) on a time scale of a few hundred Myrs, but significant lithium enrichment signatures can last for Gyrs in G-type stars ($\sim \! 0.9 \, M_{\odot}$). For more massive stars (1.3$-$1.4 $M_{\odot}$), engulfment can enhance internal mixing and diffusion processes, potentially decreasing the surface lithium abundance. Our predicted signatures from exoplanet engulfment are consistent with observed lithium-rich solar-type stars and abundance enhancements in chemically inhomogeneous binary stars.

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arXiv2022

Wave heating during the helium flash and lithium-enhanced clump stars

Red Clump stars have been found to be enhanced in lithium relative to stars at the tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB), which is unexpected in current stellar models. At the TRGB, stars undergo the helium flash, during which helium burning briefly generates roughly $10^9 \, L_\odot$ of power and drives vigorous convection within the star's core. The helium-burning shell excites large fluxes of internal gravity waves. Here we investigate whether or not these waves can deposit enough heat to destabilize the hydrogen-burning shell, generate a convection zone there, and thereby drive the Cameron-Fowler process to enhance surface $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$. We study this with detailed stellar evolution models, and find that while the waves deposit $\sim 10^6 \, L_\odot$ near the hydrogen-burning shell, and while this generally does produce a convection zone, the resulting convection does not reach high enough to merge with the envelope, and so cannot explain enhancements to surface $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$.

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arXiv2022

Tidally Tilted Pulsators

The tidally tilted pulsators are a new type of oscillating star in close binary systems that have their pulsation axis in the orbital plane because of the tidal distortion caused by their companion. We describe this group of stars on the basis of the first three representatives discovered and illustrate the basic methods used for their analysis. Their value for astrophysical study is rooted in the combination of the strengths of binary star and asteroseismic analyses; pulsational mode identifications can be achieved because the oscillations are visible over nearly 360 degrees of aspect throughout the orbital cycle. An illustrative case of a particularly interesting system is presented.

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arXiv2022

Slow convection and fast rotation in crystallization-driven white dwarf dynamos

It has been recently suggested that white dwarfs generate magnetic fields in a process analogous to the Earth. The crystallization of the core creates a compositional inversion that drives convection, and combined with rotation, this can sustain a magnetic dynamo. We reanalyse the dynamo mechanism, arising from the slow crystallization of the core, and find convective turnover times $t_{\rm conv}$ of weeks to months - longer by orders of magnitude than previously thought. With white dwarf spin periods $P\ll t_{\rm conv}$, crystallization-driven dynamos are almost always in the fast rotating regime, where the magnetic field $B$ is at least in equipartition with the convective motion and is possibly further enhanced by a factor of $B\propto (t_{\rm conv}/P)^{1/2}$, depending on the assumed dynamo scaling law. We track the growth of the crystallized core using MESA and compute the magnetic field $B(T_{\rm eff})$ as a function of the white dwarf's effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}$. We compare this prediction with observations and show that crystallization-driven dynamos can explain some - but not all - of the $\sim$MG magnetic fields measured for single white dwarfs, as well as the stronger fields measured for white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables, which were spun up by mass accretion to short $P$. Our $B(T_{\rm eff})$ curves might also explain the clustering of white dwarfs with Balmer emission lines around $T_{\rm eff}\approx 7500\textrm{ K}$.

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arXiv2022

Wave-driven outbursts and variability of low-mass supernova progenitors

In a substantial number of core-collapse supernovae, early-time interaction indicates a dense circumstellar medium (CSM) that may be produced by outbursts from the progenitor star. Wave-driven mass loss is a possible mechanism to produce these signatures, with previous work suggesting this mechanism is most effective for low mass ($ \sim \! 11 \, M_\odot$) SN progenitors. Using one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations with MESA, we study the effects of this wave heating in SN progenitors of masses $M_{\rm ZAMS} = 10-13\, M_{\odot}$. This range encompasses stars that experience semi-degenerate, central neon burning and more degenerate, off-center neon ignition. We find that central Ne ignition at $M_{\rm ZAMS} = 11\, M_{\odot}$ produces a burst of intense wave heating that transmits $\sim10^{47}$ erg of energy at $10$ years before core collapse, whereas other masses experience smaller levels of wave heating. Wave heating does not hydrodynamically drive mass loss in any of our models and is unlikely to produce a very massive CSM on its own. However, wave heating can cause large radial expansion (by more than an order of magnitude), photospheric cooling, and luminosity brightening by up to $\sim 10^6\, L_{\odot}$ in hydrogen-poor stripped star models. Some type Ib/c progenitors could drastically change their appearance in the final years of their lives, with brightness in visual bands increasing by nearly 3 mags. Moreover, interaction with a close binary companion could drive intense mass loss, with implications for type Ibn and other interaction-powered SNe.

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arXiv2022

A 62-minute orbital period black widow binary in a wide hierarchical triple

Over a dozen millisecond pulsars are ablating low-mass companions in close binary systems. In the original "black widow", the 8-hour orbital period eclipsing pulsar PSR J1959+2048 (PSR B1957+20), high energy emission originating from the pulsar is irradiating and may eventually destroy a low-mass companion. These systems are not only physical laboratories that reveal the dramatic result of exposing a close companion star to the relativistic energy output of a pulsar, but are also believed to harbour some of the most massive neutron stars, allowing for robust tests of the neutron star equation of state. Here, we report observations of ZTF J1406+1222, a wide hierarchical triple hosting a 62-minute orbital period black widow candidate whose optical flux varies by a factor of more than 10. ZTF J1406+1222 pushes the boundaries of evolutionary models, falling below the 80 minute minimum orbital period of hydrogen-rich systems. The wide tertiary companion is a rare low metallicity cool subdwarf star, and the system has a Galactic halo orbit consistent with passing near the Galactic center, making it a probe of formation channels, neutron star kick physics, and binary evolution.

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arXiv2022

Viscous and centrifugal instabilities of massive stars

Massive stars exhibit a variety of instabilities, many of which are poorly understood. We explore instabilities induced by centrifugal forces and angular momentum transport in massive rotating stars. First, we derive and numerically solve linearized oscillation equations for adiabatic radial modes in polytropic stellar models. In the presence of differential rotation, we show that centrifugal and Coriolis forces combined with viscous angular momentum transport can excite stellar pulsation modes, under both low- or high-viscosity conditions. In the low-viscosity limit, which is common in real stars, we demonstrate how to compute mode growth/damping rates via a work integral. Finally, we build realistic rotating $30\,M_\odot$ star models and show that overstable (growing) radial modes are predicted to exist for most of the star's life, in the absence of non-adiabatic effects. Peak growth rates are predicted to occur while the star is crossing the Hertzsprung-Russell gap, though non-adiabatic damping may dominate over viscous driving, depending on the effective viscosity produced by convective and/or magnetic torques. Viscous instability could be a new mechanism to drive massive star pulsations and is possibly related to instabilities of luminous blue variable stars.

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arXiv2022

Tidally Tilted Pulsations in HD 265435, a subdwarf B Star with a Close White Dwarf Companion

Tidally tilted pulsators (TTPs) are an intriguing new class of oscillating stars in binary systems; in such stars, the pulsation axis coincides with the line of apsides, or semi-major axis, of the binary. All three TTPs discovered so far have been $δ$~Scuti stars. In this Letter, we report the first conclusive discovery of tidally tilted pulsations in a subdwarf B (sdB) star. HD 265435 is an sdB--white dwarf binary with a 1.65-hr period that has been identified and characterized as the nearest potential Type Ia supernova progenitor. Using TESS 20-s cadence data from Sectors 44 and 45, we show that the pulsation axis of the sdB star has been tidally tilted into the orbital plane and aligned with the tidal axis of the binary. We identify 31 independent pulsation frequencies, 27 of which have between 1 and 7 sidebands separated by the orbital frequency ($ν_{\rm orb}$), or multiples thereof. Using the observed amplitude and phase variability due to tidal tilting, we assign $\ell$ and $m$ values to most of the observed oscillation modes and use these mode identifications to generate preliminary asteroseismic constraints. Our work significantly expands our understanding of TTPs, as we now know that (i) they can be found in stars other than $δ$~Scuti pulsators, especially highly-evolved stars that have lost their H-rich envelopes, and (ii) tidally tilted pulsations can be used to probe the interiors of stars in very tight binaries.

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arXiv2022

Wave heating from proto-neutron star convection and the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism

Our understanding of the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism is incomplete. While the favoured scenario is delayed revival of the stalled shock by neutrino heating, it is difficult to reliably compute explosion outcomes and energies, which depend sensitively on the complex radiation hydrodynamics of the post-shock region. The dynamics of the (non-)explosion depend sensitively on how energy is transported from inside and near the proto-neutron star (PNS) to material just behind the supernova shock. Although most of the PNS energy is lost in the form of neutrinos, hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic waves can also carry energy from the PNS to the shock. We show that gravity waves excited by core PNS convection can couple with outgoing acoustic waves that present an appreciable source of energy and pressure in the post-shock region. Using one-dimensional simulations, we estimate the gravity wave energy flux excited by PNS convection and the fraction of this energy transmitted upward to the post-shock region as acoustic waves. We find wave energy fluxes near $10^{51}\,\mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ are likely to persist for $\sim1\,\mathrm{s}$ post-bounce. The wave pressure on the shock may exceed $10\%$ of the thermal pressure, potentially contributing to shock revival and, subsequently, a successful and energetic explosion. We also discuss how future simulations can better capture the effects of waves, and more accurately quantify wave heating rates.

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