Astronomy:GCIRS 16SW

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Short description: Binary star in the Galactic Center in the constellation Sagittarius
GCIRS 16SW
The location of GCIRS 16SW (circled in red)
Observation data
Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS)
Constellation Sagittarius[1]
Right ascension  17h 45m 40.124s[2]
Declination −29° 00′ 29.02″[2]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage Slash star
Spectral type Ofpe/WN9[3]
Apparent magnitude (J) 14.75[4]
Apparent magnitude (H) 11.6[4]
Apparent magnitude (K) 9.34[5]
Orbit[6]
PrimarySagittarius A*
CompanionGCIRS 16SW
Period (P)1270±309 yr
Semi-major axis (a)2.32±0.46″
Eccentricity (e)0.35±0.11
Inclination (i)113.0±1.3°
Longitude of the node (Ω)113.2±1.4°
Periastron epoch (T)2132±29
Argument of periastron (ω)
(secondary)
28±14°
Orbit[7]
Period (P)19.4513±0.0011 d
Semi-major axis (a)140.6±4.7 R☉
Inclination (i)70.85±0.6°
Periastron epoch (T)2451775.102±0.032
Details[7]
A
Mass~50 M☉
Radius54.5±1.8 × 58.2±1.9 × 62.7±2.1 R☉
Luminosity1,100,000 L☉
Surface gravity (log g)3.0 cgs
Temperature24,400 K
B
Mass~50 M☉
Radius54.5±1.8 × 58.2±1.9 × 62.7±2.1 R☉
Luminosity1,100,000 L☉
Surface gravity (log g)3.0 cgs
Temperature23,500 K
Other designations
GCIRS 16SW, IRS 16SW, S97, S1-16[8]
Database references
SIMBADdata

GCIRS 16SW, also known as S97, is a contact binary star located in the Galactic Center. It is composed of two hot massive stars of equal size that orbit each other with a period of 19.5 days. The stars are so close that their atmospheres overlap, and the two stars form an eclipsing binary varying in brightness by 0.35 magnitudes at infrared wavelengths.[7]

Artist's impression of GCIRS 16SW

GCIRS 16SW orbits Sagittarius A* at approximately 19,000 AU, with a period of approximately 1,270 years.[6] At the stars' estimated mass of about 50 solar masses, they are predicted to have a lifespan of about 4 million years, indicating that the system formed within 0.1 parsecs (0.33 ly; 21,000 astronomical unit|AU) of Sagittarius A*, instead of having migrated inward from a greater distance.[7]

GCIRS 16SW was classified as a candidate luminous blue variable on the basis of its spectrum and physical properties.[9] This was before it was identified as an eclipsing binary, but it is still treated as a candidate LBV.[10]

Each star is strongly distorted by the gravity of the other star. The polar radius is calculated to be 54.5 R☉, while the radius along the direction of orbital motion is 58.2 R☉. The radius along the line joining the two stars is 62.7 R☉, while the separation of the centres of the two stars is 132.8 R☉. A calculation of properties treating the binary as a single star gave an effective temperature of 24,400 K.[9] The secondary component is found to have a temperature 96% of that of the primary. However, these temperatures yield a luminosity over a million times that of the sun, uncomfortably close to the Eddington luminosity for each star, and it is suspected the actual temperatures are slightly lower.[7]

The stellar wind of IRS 16SW may be the origin of three gas clouds in the galactic center called G1, G2 and G3.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Roman, Nancy G. (1987). "Identification of a constellation from a position". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 99 (617): 695. doi:10.1086/132034. Bibcode: 1987PASP...99..695R  Constellation record for this object at VizieR.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Miho N. Ishigaki; Nozomu Tominaga; Chiaki Kobayashi; Ken'ichi Nomoto (2014). "Faint Population III Supernovae as the Origin of the Most Iron-Poor Stars". The Astrophysical Journal Letters 792 (2): L32. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/792/2/L32. Bibcode: 2014ApJ...792L..32I. 
  3. ↑ Paumard, T.; Genzel, R.; Martins, F.; Nayakshin, S.; Beloborodov, A.M.; Levin, Y.; Trippe, S.; Eisenhauer, F. et al. (2006). "The two young star disks in the central parsec of the galaxy: Properties, dynamics, and formation". The Astrophysical Journal 643 (2): 1011–1035. doi:10.1086/503273. Bibcode: 2006ApJ...643.1011P. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Blum, R. D.; Ramírez, Solange V.; Sellgren, K.; Olsen, K. (2003). "Really Cool Stars and the Star Formation History at the Galactic Center". The Astrophysical Journal 597 (1): 323–346. doi:10.1086/378380. Bibcode: 2003ApJ...597..323B. 
  5. ↑ Blum, R. D.; Sellgren, K.; Depoy, D. L. (1996). "JHKL Photometry and the K-Band Luminosity Function at the Galactic Center". The Astrophysical Journal 470: 864. doi:10.1086/177917. Bibcode: 1996ApJ...470..864B. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gillessen, S.; Plewa, P. M.; Eisenhauer, F.; Sari, R.; Waisberg, I.; Habibi, M.; Pfuhl, O.; George, E. et al. (2017). "An Update on Monitoring Stellar Orbits in the Galactic Center" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal 837 (1): 30. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa5c41. ISSN 0004-637X. Bibcode: 2017ApJ...837...30G. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Peeples, Molly S. (January 2007). "The Nature of the Variable Galactic Center Source GCIRS 16SW Revisited: A Massive Eclipsing Binary". The Astrophysical Journal 654 (1): L61–L64. doi:10.1086/510720. Bibcode: 2007ApJ...654L..61P. 
  8. ↑ "GCIRS 16SW". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=GCIRS+16SW. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Najarro, F.; Krabbe, A.; Genzel, R.; Lutz, D.; Kudritzki, R. P.; Hillier, D. J. (1997). "Quantitative spectroscopy of the HeI cluster in the Galactic center.". Astronomy and Astrophysics 325: 700. Bibcode: 1997A&A...325..700N. 
  10. ↑ Smith, Nathan; Aghakhanloo, Mojgan; Murphy, Jeremiah W.; Drout, Maria R.; Stassun, Keivan G.; Groh, Jose H. (2019). "On the Gaia DR2 distances for Galactic luminous blue variables". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 488 (2): 1760. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz1712. Bibcode: 2019MNRAS.488.1760S. 
  11. ↑ Gillessen, S.; Eisenhauer, F. et al. (March 2026). "The gas streamer G1–2–3 in the Galactic center". Astronomy & Astrophysics 707: A79. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202555808. ISSN 0004-6361. Bibcode: 2026A&A...707A..79G.