2021/12/16 by T. Khouri, Theo Khouri, Wouter Vlemmings +10
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Biology #Ecology #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Identification (biology) #Internal medicine #Medicine #Observational study #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41550-021-01528-4
Published on Nature Astronomy on Dec 16, 2021: https://rdcu.be/cDlX8
openalex publication_date 2021/12/16 · arxiv created 2021/12/17 · arxiv updated 2021/12/20 · openalex created_date 2021/12/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
One of the most poorly understood stellar evolutionary paths is that of binary systems undergoing common-envelope evolution, when the envelope of a giant star engulfs the orbit of a companion. Although this interaction leads to a great variety of astrophysical systems, direct empirical studies are difficult because few objects experiencing common-envelope evolution are known. We present ALMA observations towards sources known as water fountains that reveal they had low initial masses (<4~\rm M_\odot) and ejected a significant fraction of it over less than a few hundred years. The only mechanism able to explain such rapid mass ejection is common-envelope evolution. Our calculations show that the water-fountain sample accounts for a large fraction of the systems in our Galaxy which have just experienced the common-envelope phase. Since water-fountain sources show characteristic fast bipolar outflows, outflows and jets likely play an important role right before, during or immediately after the common-envelope phase.