Post common envelope binary explained

A post-common envelope binary (PCEB) or pre-cataclysmic variable is a binary system consisting of a white dwarf or hot subdwarf and a main-sequence star or a brown dwarf.[1] The star or brown dwarf shared a common envelope with the white dwarf progenitor in the red giant phase. In this scenario the star or brown dwarf loses angular momentum as it orbits within the envelope, eventually leaving a main-sequence star and white dwarf in a short-period orbit. A PCEB will continue to lose angular momentum via magnetic braking and gravitational waves and will eventually begin mass-transfer, resulting in a cataclysmic variable. While there are thousands of PCEBs known, there are only a few eclipsing PCEBs, also called ePCEBs.[2] Even more rare are PCEBs with a brown dwarf as the secondary. A brown dwarf with a mass lower than 20 might evaporate during the common envelope phase and therefore the secondary is supposed to have a mass higher than 20 .[3]

The material ejected from the common envelope forms a planetary nebula. One in five planetary nebulae are ejected from common envelopes, but this might be an underestimate. A planetary nebula formed by a common envelope system usually shows a bipolar structure.[4]

The suspected PCEB HD 101584 is surrounded by a complex nebula. During the common envelope phase the red giant phase of the primary was terminated prematurely, avoiding a stellar merger. The remaining hydrogen envelope of HD 101584 was ejected during the interaction between the red giant and the companion and it now forms the circumstellar medium around the binary.

Many eclipsing post-common envelope binaries show variations in the timing of eclipses, the cause of which is uncertain. While orbiting exoplanets are often proposed as the cause of these variations, planetary models often fail to predict subsequent changes in eclipse timing. Other proposed causes, such as the Applegate mechanism, often cannot fully explain the observed eclipse timing variations either.

List of post-common envelope binaries

Sorted by increasing orbital period.

!Name!Period!Secondary!Note
SDSS J1205-024271.2 minutes[5] low-mass star or brown dwarfshortest period PCEB (as of 2017)
WD 0137−349116 minutesbrown dwarffirst confirmed PCEB with a brown dwarf as a companion
CSS21055121.73 minutes[6] brown dwarfeclipsing binary
SDSS 15572.27 hours[7] brown dwarfcircumbinary debris disk with a polluted white dwarf
V470 Camelopardalis
(HS0705+6700)		0.096disp=outNaNdisp=outred dwarfeclipsing binary
NY Virginis0.101disp=outNaNdisp=outred dwarfeclipsing binary
NSVS 142568250.11disp=outNaNdisp=outred dwarfeclipsing binary
HW Virginis0.117disp=outNaNdisp=outred dwarfeclipsing binary
NN Serpentis3.12 hoursred dwarfeclipsing binary
WD 0837+1854.2 hours[8] brown dwarfextreme mass ratio of the progenitor, with the primary having a mass of 3.5-3.7 and the secondary 25-30
RR Caeli0.304disp=outNaNdisp=outred dwarfeclipsing binary
DE Canum Venaticorum0.364disp=outNaNdisp=outred dwarfeclipsing binary
central source of Hen 2-1114.616 hours[9] K-type main sequence starplanetary nebula and eclipsing binary
K 1-216.2192 hours[10] planetary nebula
central source of Fleming 11.1953 days[11] white dwarfplanetary nebula
KOI-2561.37865 daysred dwarfeclipsing binary
central source of NGC 23921.9 days[12] hot white dwarfplanetary nebula and x-ray binary
central source of NGC 51894.04 days[13] massive white dwarfplanetary nebula; primary is a low-mass Wolf-Rayet star
central source of NGC 234616 days[14] >3.5 sub-giantplanetary nebula; one of the longest period PCEB which could host the most massive secondary
HD 101584150–200 daysred dwarf or white dwarfthe engulfment of the companion probably triggered gas to outflow, creating the nebula, seen with Hubble and ALMA; primary is a post-RGB star

See also

Notes and References

  1. Casewell. S. L.. Braker. I. P.. Parsons. S. G.. Hermes. J. J.. Burleigh. M. R.. Belardi. C.. Chaushev. A.. Finch. N. L.. Roy. M.. Littlefair. S. P.. Goad. M.. 2018-05-01. The first sub-70 minute non-interacting WD-BD system: EPIC212235321. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 476. 1. 1405–1411. 10.1093/mnras/sty245. free . 0035-8711. 1801.07773. 2018MNRAS.476.1405C. 55776991.
  2. Muirhead. Philip S.. Vanderburg. Andrew. Shporer. Avi. Becker. Juliette. Swift. Jonathan J.. Lloyd. James P.. Fuller. Jim. Zhao. Ming. Hinkley. Sasha. Pineda. J. Sebastian. Bottom. Michael. 2013-04-02. Characterizing the Cool KOIs. V. KOI-256: A Mutually Eclipsing Post-Common Envelope Binary. The Astrophysical Journal. 767. 2. 111. 10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/111. 0004-637X. 1304.1165. 2013ApJ...767..111M. 30368826.
  3. Web site: A Sub-Stellar Jonah – Brown Dwarf Survives Being Swallowed. www.eso.org. en. 2020-02-02.
  4. De Marco. Orsola. Orsola De Marco. Reichardt. T.. Iaconi. R.. Hillwig. T.. Jacoby. G. H.. Keller. D.. Izzard. R. G.. Nordhaus. J.. Blackman. E. G.. October 2017. Post-common envelope PN, fundamental or irrelevant?. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. en. 323. 213–217. 10.1017/S1743921317002149. 1612.03515. 2017IAUS..323..213D. 119069917. 1743-9221.
  5. Rappaport. S.. Vanderburg. A.. Nelson. L.. Gary. B. L.. Kaye. T. G.. Kalomeni. B.. Howell. S. B.. Thorstensen. J. R.. Lachapelle. F.-R.. Lundy. M.. St-Antoine. J.. October 2017. WD 1202-024: the shortest-period pre-cataclysmic variable. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. en. 471. 1. 948–961. 10.1093/mnras/stx1611. free . 0035-8711. 2017MNRAS.471..948R. 1705.05863. 119349942.
  6. Beuermann. K.. Dreizler. S.. Hessman. F. V.. Backhaus. U.. Boesch. A.. Husser. T.-O.. Nortmann. L.. Schmelev. A.. Springer. R.. October 2013. The eclipsing post-common envelope binary CSS21055: a white dwarf with a probable brown-dwarf companion. Astronomy & Astrophysics. en. 558. A96. 10.1051/0004-6361/201322241. 0004-6361. 2013A&A...558A..96B. 1312.5088. 54497208.
  7. Farihi. J.. Parsons. S. G.. Gänsicke. B. T.. March 2017. A circumbinary debris disk in a polluted white dwarf system. Nature Astronomy. en. 1. 3. 0032. 10.1038/s41550-016-0032. 2397-3366. 2017NatAs...1E..32F. 1612.05259. 54742816.
  8. Casewell. S. L.. Burleigh. M. R.. Wynn. G. A.. Alexander. R. D.. Napiwotzki. R.. Lawrie. K. A.. Dobbie. P. D.. Jameson. R. F.. Hodgkin. S. T.. November 2012. WD0837+185: The Formation and Evolution of an Extreme Mass-ratio White-dwarf-Brown-dwarf Binary in Praesepe. The Astrophysical Journal. en. 759. 2. L34. 10.1088/2041-8205/759/2/L34. 1210.0446. 0004-637X. 2012ApJ...759L..34C. 53545021.
  9. Jones. D.. Boffin. H. M. J.. Miszalski. B.. Wesson. R.. Corradi. R. L. M.. Tyndall. A. A.. February 2014. The post-common-envelope, binary central star of the planetary nebula Hen 2–11. Astronomy & Astrophysics. en. 562. A89. 10.1051/0004-6361/201322797. 1401.1358. 2014A&A...562A..89J. 59437439. 0004-6361.
  10. Ritter. H.. Kolb. U.. June 2003. Catalogue of cataclysmic binaries, low-mass X-ray binaries and related objects (Seventh edition). Astronomy & Astrophysics. en. 404. 301–303. 10.1051/0004-6361:20030330. 0004-6361. 2003A&A...404..301R. astro-ph/0301444. 61117701.
  11. Boffin. Henri M. J.. Miszalski. Brent. Rauch. Thomas. Jones. David. Corradi. Romano L. M.. Napiwotzki. Ralf. Day-Jones. Avril C.. Köppen. Joachim. November 2012. An Interacting Binary System Powers Precessing Outflows of an Evolved Star. Science. en. 338. 6108. 773–5. 10.1126/science.1225386. 23139326. 1211.2200. 2012Sci...338..773B. 206542812. 0036-8075.
  12. Miszalski. Brent. Manick. Rajeev. Van Winckel. Hans. Escorza. Ana. May 2019. The post-common-envelope X-ray binary nucleus of the planetary nebula NGC 2392. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. en. 36. e018. 10.1017/pasa.2019.11. 1903.07264. 2019PASA...36...18M. 119400616. 1323-3580.
  13. Manick. Rajeev. Miszalski. Brent. McBride. Vanessa. April 2015. A radial velocity survey for post-common-envelope Wolf-Rayet central stars of planetary nebulae: first results and discovery of the close binary nucleus of NGC 5189. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. en. 448. 2. 1789–1806. 10.1093/mnras/stv074. free . 1501.03373. 2015MNRAS.448.1789M. 118600965. 0035-8711.
  14. Brown. Alex J.. Jones. David. Boffin. Henri M. J.. Van Winckel. Hans. February 2019. On the post-common-envelope central star of the planetary nebula NGC 2346. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. en. 482. 4. 4951–4955. 10.1093/mnras/sty2986. free . 1810.09764. 2019MNRAS.482.4951B. 119070983. 0035-8711.

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