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Indian Astronomers observe a blue straggler star forming.

 


Astronomers from India, along with their international colleagues, made a giant leap in the field of astronomy when they took direct images of a Blue Straggler star (BSS) as it was being born. The discovery was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and is compelling evidence that Blue Straggler Stars are a product of mass transfer in binary star systems.

What is the meaning of the term ‘blue straggler star'?
A star that looks as if it were one of the others, but is in fact not is called: A star that looks like the others, but actually isn't is called:
  • Hotter (bluer)
  • Brighter
  • More massive
  • Younger than the other stars in the same star cluster.
This is unusual, as all stars in a cluster should be forming at the same time. For decades, astronomers have been mystified by Blue Stragglers; they appear to have been "rejuvenated.
The researchers analysed the binary star system TIC 327546480 in the Collinder 261 open star cluster.
Key facts:
  • Orbital period: 2,800 years
  • Age of Collinder 261 (approx.): 7 billion years
  • Scientists used the observations from:
To measure the brightness changes of the stars, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will be used.
The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) to measure the stars' motion and masses.
These observations showed that the two stars are interacting in the process.
What causes a Blue Straggler?
It is a semi-detached binary system, where one star has grown beyond the Roche lobe (the region in which its gravity can keep its material in orbit).
As a result:
  1. From the big star, the material flows to the smaller star.
  2. A companion star becomes more massive.
  3. It will grow hotter, brighter, and heavier.
  4. It seems younger than other stars in the cluster, and evolves into a Blue Straggler Star.
This process is known as mass transfer.
The team has observed the strong X-ray emissions, indicating that the Blue Straggler is in the process of accreting, or absorbing, matter from its companion.
This directly confirms that the mass transfer is occurring in real time and is one of the most compelling observations of the formation of a Blue Straggler.
Key measurements
                Parameter                                                Value
Blue Straggler mass                                    1.67 times the Sun's mass
Companion star mass                                  0.32 times the Sun's mass
Orbital period                                              2.11 days
Rotation speed                                             69.55 km/s
Mass transfer started                                    About 5.46 billion years ago
Cluster age                                                   About 7 billion years
What does this discovery mean?
Supports the mass-transfer theory of the origin of Blue Straggler Stars.
One of the brightest and most direct observations of a Blue Straggler forming.
Helps solve a decades-old mystery in stellar astrophysics.
Provides a good laboratory for studying the evolution of binary stars, rejuvenation of stars, and evolution of a star cluster.
Research team
Ali Hasan Sheikh, an INSPIRE Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and a PhD student at Gauhati University, led the study.
The scientists were from the following institutions:
  • Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA)
  • Gauhati University
  • IUCAA, Pune
  • INAF, Italy
  • LUX Observatoire de Paris
  • University of North Florida, USA
  • One-line exam takeaway
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