Astronomy:HE 0107−5240

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Short description: Extremely metal poor star in the constellation Phoenix
HE 0107−5240
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The ultra-metal-poor star HE0107−5240
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0   Equinox (celestial coordinates)
Constellation Phoenix[1]
Right ascension  01h 09m 29.1556s[2]
Declination −52° 24′ 34.202″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 15.07[3]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)46.6±0.1[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: +2.357[2] mas/yr
Dec.: −3.826[2] mas/yr
Parallax (π)0.1064 ± 0.0195[2] mas
Distance22,600+3,600
−2,600
 ly
(6,930+1,100
−800
 pc)
Orbit[4]
PrimaryA
CompanionB
Period (P)10,560+786
−518
days
Semi-major axis (a)≥1.571+0.153
−0.100
 au
Eccentricity (e)0.24±0.08
Periastron epoch (T)2,450,000 − 494+492
−706
Semi-amplitude (K2)
(secondary)
1.67+0.08
−0.07
km/s
Details
A
Mass0.78[4] M☉
Radius8.72 ± 0.20[4][lower-alpha 1] R☉
Luminosity46.8+2.2
−2.1
[4] L☉
Surface gravity (log g)2.46[4] cgs
Temperature5,111[4] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−5.3[5] dex
Age13[4] Gyr
B
Mass>0.14[4] M☉
Other designations
HE 0107−5240, 2MASS J01092916-5224341.
Database references
SIMBADdata

HE 0107−5240 is a binary star system in the constellation of Phoenix, consisting of extremely metal-poor Population II stars. It is located roughly 6,930 parsecs (22,600 light-years) away from Earth. This system is one of the most metal-poor known in our Galaxy, with a metallicity [Fe/H] = −5.2±0.2;[5] i.e. it has just ⁠1/160000⁠ of the metal that the Sun has. Because of its very low metallicity, it is believed to be one of the earliest Population II stars to have formed. If so, then it is also very old, with an age of roughly 13 billion years. Because the stars are not completely metal-free, they do not belong to the first generation of stars (the hypothetical Population III). Pop III stars converted the pristine hydrogen, helium, and lithium formed by the Big Bang into heavier elements, such as carbon, oxygen, and metals.

HE0107−5240 was found by Norbert Christlieb and colleagues at the University of Hamburg in Germany as a byproduct of the Hamburg/ESO Survey for faint quasars with the 1m ESO Schmidt telescope. Follow-up observations were made at the Siding Spring 2.3 m Telescope and high-resolution spectra were taken at the European Southern Observatory in Chile, using one of the units of the Very Large Telescope. In 2005, a second star with an even smaller iron abundance, HE 1327-2326 ([Fe/H]=-5.4), was found, also in the Hamburg/ESO survey. In 2014 an even more metal poor star was announced: SMSS J031300.36−670839.3.[6] In 2020, HE 0107−5240 was revealed to be an spectroscopic binary system. The orbit has an period of 10,560 days (28.9 years) and a low eccentricity. The companion has a mass of at least 0.14 solar masses.[4]

See also

Other ultra low metallicity / ultra metal poor stars

Notes

  1. ↑ Calculated, using the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the star's effective temperature and luminosity, with respect to the solar nominal effective temperature of 5,772 K:(5,7725,111)4⋅101.67=8.72 R⊙.

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 2.2 2.3 Vallenari, A. et al. (2022). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940  Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  3. ↑ Zacharias, N.; Finch, C. T.; Girard, T. M.; Henden, A.; Bartlett, J. L.; Monet, D. G.; Zacharias, M. I. (2013). "The Fourth US Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC4)" (in en). The Astronomical Journal 145 (2): 44. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/145/2/44. ISSN 0004-6256. Bibcode: 2013AJ....145...44Z. 
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 Caffau, E.; Steffen, M.; Molaro, P.; Bonifacio, P.; Christlieb, N.; Aguado, D. S.; Hernández, J. I. González; Osorio, M. R. Zapatero; Monaco, L. (2025-10-21). "Unveiling the nature of HE 0107-5240: a long period binary CEMP-no star with [Fe/H] of –5.56". arXiv:2510.18498 [astro-ph.SR].
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Christlieb, N.; Gustafsson, B.; Korn, A. J.; Barklem, P. S.; Beers, T. C.; Bessell, M. S.; Karlsson, T.; Mizuno-Wiedner, M. (2004). "HE 0107-5240, a Chemically Ancient Star. I. A Detailed Abundance Analysis". The Astrophysical Journal 603 (2): 708. doi:10.1086/381237. Bibcode: 2004ApJ...603..708C. 
  6. ↑ S. C. Keller; M. S. Bessell; A. Frebel; A. R. Casey; M. Asplund; H. R. Jacobson; K. Lind; J. E. Norris et al. (2014). "A single low-energy, iron-poor supernova as the source of metals in the star SMSS J031300.36−670839.3". Nature 506 (7489): 463–466. doi:10.1038/nature12990. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 24509711. Bibcode: 2014Natur.506..463K. 
  • Christlieb N., Bessell M.S., Gustafsson B., Korn A., Barklem P.S., Karisson T., Mizuno-Wiedner M., Rossi S., "A stellar relic from the early Milky Way", Nature, 419, 904-906 (2002)