🔭💥 A massive white dwarf defies the rules of stellar evolution #nature #science

What is a white dwarf, more massive than the Sun, doing inside the "period gap" where such objects aren't expected to exist?

🧪 Astronomers from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences studied the rare binary system J1013+2724 — a white dwarf paired with an M4-type star. The system is not currently transferring mass, and based on its temperature, it is either preparing to begin mass transfer or has already "gone dormant" after a burst of activity.

📡 They used spectra from LAMOST and SDSS, and photometric data from TESS, ZTF, GALEX, Pan-STARRS, and the Liverpool Telescope.

🔬 They modeled eclipses, orbital motion, light curves, and compared the results with theoretical predictions.

📉 This is the first system of its kind with such a massive white dwarf found within the gap. It challenges the classic model of disrupted magnetic braking — a key explanation for the absence of cataclysmic variables in this range.

📖 The Astrophysical Journal, May 2025

👨‍🔬 Yuji He, Hailong Yuan | University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

🔗 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adc0fa

#astronomy #binarystars #whitedwarf #cv #cataclysmicvariables #stars #eclipsingbinary #astro

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