Binary Interaction Dominates the Evolution of Massive Stars
Binary Interaction Dominates the Evolution of Massive Stars
复制标题
DOI：
10.1126/science.1223344
复制
发表时间：
2012-07
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
H. Sana;S. D. Mink;A. D. Koter;N. Langer;C. Evans;M. Gieles;E. Gosset;R. Izzard;J. L. Bouquin-J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
H. Sana;S. D. Mink;A. D. Koter;N. Langer;C. Evans;M. Gieles;E. Gosset;R. Izzard;J. L. Bouquin-J.
星星伴侣质量超过太阳8倍的恒星非常罕见，而且寿命很短，但它们非常重要，因为它们产生了宇宙中所有的重元素，如铁、硅和钙。Sana等人（第444页）研究了位于我们银河系附近的6个星团中的1070颗大质量恒星的性质。样本中超过一半的恒星属于一个双星系统，在它们的生命周期中，这些双星系统中的大多数恒星都会相互作用，要么合并，要么交换质量。因此，双星的相互作用可能会影响大多数大质量恒星的演化。对银河系中大质量恒星样本的分析表明，大多数恒星将与附近的伴星相互作用。附近伴星的存在改变了双星系统中大质量恒星的演化，导致了恒星合并、x射线双星和伽马射线爆发等现象。缺乏对大质量恒星中受双星相互作用影响的部分的无引力约束。我们同时测量了银河系大质量O星样本中所有相关的二元特征，并量化了二元相互作用的频率和性质。超过70%的大质量恒星会与伴星交换质量，导致三分之一的双星合并。这些数字大大超过了以前的估计，并意味着双星相互作用主导了大质量恒星的演化，这对大质量恒星及其超新星的种群也有影响。
Star Partners Stars more massive than eight times the mass of the Sun are rare and short-lived, yet they are fundamentally important because they produce all the heavy elements in the universe, such as iron, silicon, and calcium. Sana et al. (p. 444) examined the properties of a sample of ∼70 massive stars in six stellar clusters located nearby in our galaxy. Over half of the stars in the sample belong to a binary system and, during the course of their lifetimes, most of the stars in these binaries will interact with one another, either by merging or exchanging mass. Binary interaction may thus affect the evolution of the majority of massive stars. Analysis of a sample of massive stars in our Galaxy implies that most will interact with a nearby companion. The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, x-ray binaries, and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars affected by binary interaction were lacking. We simultaneously measured all relevant binary characteristics in a sample of Galactic massive O stars and quantified the frequency and nature of binary interactions. More than 70% of all massive stars will exchange mass with a companion, leading to a binary merger in one-third of the cases. These numbers greatly exceed previous estimates and imply that binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars, with implications for populations of massive stars and their supernovae.