2024/04/20 by Suman Bhattacharyya, Bhattacharyya, Suman, Blesson Mathew +11 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2404.13303
openalex publication_date 2024/04/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In our previous study (Bhattacharyya et al., 2022), HD~54786, the optical counterpart of the MAXI J0709-159 system, was identified to be an evolved star, departing from the main sequence, based on comparisons with non-X-ray binary systems. In this paper, using color-magnitude diagram (CMD) analysis for High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) and statistical t-tests, we found evidence supporting HD 54786's potential membership in both Be/X-ray binaries (BeXRBs) and supergaint X-ray binaries (SgXBs) populations of HMXBs. Hence, our study points towards dual optical characteristics of HD~54786, as an X-ray binary star and also belonging to a distinct evolutionary phase from BeXRB towards SgXB. Our further analysis suggests that MAXI J0709-159, associated with HD 54786, exhibits low-level activity during the current epoch and possesses a limited amount of circumstellar material. Although similarities with the previously studied BeXRB system LSI +61∘ 235 (Coe et al., 1994) are noted, continued monitoring and data collection are essential to fully comprehend the complexities of MAXI J0709-159 and its evolutionary trajectory within the realm of HMXBs.