2004/03/09 by V. Smolcic, V. Smolčić, Željko Ivezić +28 · 3 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Binary number #Biology #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Locus (genetics) #Mathematics #Physics #Sky #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #White dwarf #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/426475
published as Astrophys.J. 615 (2004) L141-L144 · submitted to ApJ, 4 pages, 4 color figures
arxiv created 2004/03/09 · openalex publication_date 2004/10/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2020/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We report the discovery of a locus of binary stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) g - r versus u - g color-color diagram that connects the colors of white dwarfs and M dwarfs. While its contrast with respect to the main stellar locus is only ~1 : 2300, this previously unrecognized feature includes 863 stars from the SDSS Data Release 1 (DR1). The position and shape of the feature are in good agreement with predictions of a simple binary star model that consists of a white dwarf and an M dwarf, with the components' luminosity ratio controlling the position along this binary system locus. SDSS DR1 spectra for 47 of these objects strongly support this model. The absolute magnitude-color distribution inferred for the white dwarf component is in good agreement with the models of Bergeron et al.