Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245

In this paper, we constrain the properties of an overluminous blue supergiant star (BSG) in the open cluster vdBH 245. We confirm the cluster membership of a sample of early-to-mid B-type stars using their proper motions, parallaxes, and radial velocities. We measure the stellar parameters through a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexandre Legault, Nicole St-Louis, André-Nicolas Chené, Fabrice Martins, Anthony Hervé, Leigh C. Smith, Karla Peña Ramírez, Sebastian Ramírez Alegría, Kaimi Kahihikolo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc90d
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850132091410317312
author Alexandre Legault
Nicole St-Louis
André-Nicolas Chené
Fabrice Martins
Anthony Hervé
Leigh C. Smith
Karla Peña Ramírez
Sebastian Ramírez Alegría
Kaimi Kahihikolo
author_facet Alexandre Legault
Nicole St-Louis
André-Nicolas Chené
Fabrice Martins
Anthony Hervé
Leigh C. Smith
Karla Peña Ramírez
Sebastian Ramírez Alegría
Kaimi Kahihikolo
author_sort Alexandre Legault
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, we constrain the properties of an overluminous blue supergiant star (BSG) in the open cluster vdBH 245. We confirm the cluster membership of a sample of early-to-mid B-type stars using their proper motions, parallaxes, and radial velocities. We measure the stellar parameters through a spectrophotometric analysis of their optical spectra and near-infrared photometry. We correct for the effects of extinction of the cluster’s light and estimate a most likely age range for vdBH 245 of 31.6 ${}_{-13.8}^{+13.1}$ Myr using the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (or BPASS) Python software hoki and models from the Geneva group. We find a distance of 2.0 ± 0.2 kpc for the cluster, consistent with the value estimated by Gaia of 2.6 ± 0.5 kpc. However, the new age estimate does not agree with previous studies that have found much younger ages. We find that single-star evolution alone is unable to explain the BSG in that age range, even when considering the impact of rotation on stellar evolution. Instead, we find that the overluminous B8–B9 Ia BSG could be interpreted as a merger between two stars with initial masses ranging from 8.5–12.0 M _⊙ and 1.1–10.8 M _⊙ , with a current mass in the range of 13.4–20.6 M _⊙ . The merger would have occurred somewhere between 5.0 and 21.0 Myr after the cluster’s formation. The discovery of such a BSG appearing too young (≈10 Myr in the single-star paradigm) for its population hints at the importance of considering binary interactions to explain the observed population of Galactic BSGs.
format Article
id doaj-art-5b029499567d4ef5b272bbffb91a2ec6
institution OA Journals
issn 1538-4357
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-5b029499567d4ef5b272bbffb91a2ec62025-08-20T02:32:16ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01985218010.3847/1538-4357/adc90dConstraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245Alexandre Legault0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2372-9825Nicole St-Louis1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3890-3400André-Nicolas Chené2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1115-6559Fabrice Martins3Anthony Hervé4Leigh C. Smith5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3259-2771Karla Peña Ramírez6Sebastian Ramírez Alegría7Kaimi Kahihikolo8Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec, Département de physique, Université de Montréal , Complexe des Sciences, Montréal, QC H2V 0B3, Canada; Departamento de Astrofísica, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA) , Ctra. Torrejón a Ajalvir km 4, E-28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain; Departamento de Física Teórica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) , Campus de Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, SpainCentre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec, Département de physique, Université de Montréal , Complexe des Sciences, Montréal, QC H2V 0B3, CanadaNSF’s NOIRLab , 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USACNRS LUPM-UMR5299 , Place Eugène Bataillon—CC 072, 34095, Montpellier, FranceGemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USAInstitute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UKVera C. Rubin Observatory , Av Juan Cisternas 1500, La Serena, ChileCentro de Astronomía (CITEVA), Universidad de Antofagasta , Av. Angamos 601, Antofagasta, ChileGemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USAIn this paper, we constrain the properties of an overluminous blue supergiant star (BSG) in the open cluster vdBH 245. We confirm the cluster membership of a sample of early-to-mid B-type stars using their proper motions, parallaxes, and radial velocities. We measure the stellar parameters through a spectrophotometric analysis of their optical spectra and near-infrared photometry. We correct for the effects of extinction of the cluster’s light and estimate a most likely age range for vdBH 245 of 31.6 ${}_{-13.8}^{+13.1}$ Myr using the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (or BPASS) Python software hoki and models from the Geneva group. We find a distance of 2.0 ± 0.2 kpc for the cluster, consistent with the value estimated by Gaia of 2.6 ± 0.5 kpc. However, the new age estimate does not agree with previous studies that have found much younger ages. We find that single-star evolution alone is unable to explain the BSG in that age range, even when considering the impact of rotation on stellar evolution. Instead, we find that the overluminous B8–B9 Ia BSG could be interpreted as a merger between two stars with initial masses ranging from 8.5–12.0 M _⊙ and 1.1–10.8 M _⊙ , with a current mass in the range of 13.4–20.6 M _⊙ . The merger would have occurred somewhere between 5.0 and 21.0 Myr after the cluster’s formation. The discovery of such a BSG appearing too young (≈10 Myr in the single-star paradigm) for its population hints at the importance of considering binary interactions to explain the observed population of Galactic BSGs.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc90dOpen star clustersB supergiant starsInteracting binary starsStellar mergers
spellingShingle Alexandre Legault
Nicole St-Louis
André-Nicolas Chené
Fabrice Martins
Anthony Hervé
Leigh C. Smith
Karla Peña Ramírez
Sebastian Ramírez Alegría
Kaimi Kahihikolo
Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245
The Astrophysical Journal
Open star clusters
B supergiant stars
Interacting binary stars
Stellar mergers
title Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245
title_full Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245
title_fullStr Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245
title_full_unstemmed Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245
title_short Constraints on the Evolution of an Overluminous Blue Supergiant from its Parent Open Cluster, vdBH 245
title_sort constraints on the evolution of an overluminous blue supergiant from its parent open cluster vdbh 245
topic Open star clusters
B supergiant stars
Interacting binary stars
Stellar mergers
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc90d
work_keys_str_mv AT alexandrelegault constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT nicolestlouis constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT andrenicolaschene constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT fabricemartins constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT anthonyherve constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT leighcsmith constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT karlapenaramirez constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT sebastianramirezalegria constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245
AT kaimikahihikolo constraintsontheevolutionofanoverluminousbluesupergiantfromitsparentopenclustervdbh245