Researchers from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom have made a triple-star discovery that could provide new insights into stellar formations.
Astrophysicists have long been fascinated by the diversity of stars and their unique behaviors while floating in the vast expanse of space. While some of these cosmic objects prefer a solitary existence, others form pairs or even groups.
Triple Star Discovery
However, among the various stellar arrangements, there exists a peculiar type that is known as vampire stars, which have been found to thrive in triple-star systems. The new study has shed light on this particularly intriguing phenomenon.
Researchers analyzed data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia satellite, which has surveyed roughly two billion celestial objects. They discovered evidence that suggests that vampire stars, which are also known as Be stars, typically exist in triple-star systems in the cosmos.
Be stars are a subset of B stars, which are characterized by their rapid spin and the presence of a circumstellar disk around them. These are hot, bright, blue-white stars and are often beside another companion star, as per City Life.
However, the newest research study showed that Be stars exhibit fewer companion-star signatures compared to regular B stars. In an effort to uncover the mystery behind this, scientists examined a different set of data and found that Be stars could have a third star in their system that effectively acts as a "vampire familiar."
The presence of a third star could force the companion star closer to the voracious Be star, which results in the depletion of its atmosphere. The third star, on the other hand, as it is more distant, could evade detection. This could explain their absence in the initial data set.
The latest discoveries highlight the complexity of star formation and evolution and emphasize the importance of further analysis. This is true not only for binary star systems but also for triple star systems.
The research was conducted by Ph.D. student Jonathan Dodd and Professor Rene Oudmaijer from the University's School of Physics and Astronomy. When observing lone stars, the light would travel in a straight line, and for two stars in tandem, it would include a slight wobble or in the best case, a spiral, according to Phys.org.
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Complexity of Stellar Formations
Oudmaijer said that there is currently a revolution going on in physics revolving around gravitational waves. He noted that they have been observing these waves for a few years now and they have been found to be caused by the merging of black holes.
He noted that while they know some information about these enigmatic objects, scientists do not know much about the stars that would later become them. He added that the latest findings could provide a clue to understanding these sources of gravitational waves.
The researchers of the study described the process of the companion star being engulfed by the larger star as akin to a "vampire" star siphoning off mass from its nearby colleague. Oudmaijer said that in the last decade, astronomers have found binarity to be an incredibly important element in stellar evolution.
The lead researcher of the study said that they are now moving towards the idea that it is even more complex than initially believed and that triple stars need to be taken into consideration in future studies and experiments, said Interesting Engineering.
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