A stripped-companion origin for Be stars: clues from the putative black holes HR 6819 and LB-1

HR 6819 is a bright (V = 5.36), blue star recently proposed to be a triple containing a detached black hole (BH). We show that the system is a binary and does not contain a BH. Using spectral decomposition, we disentangle the observed composite spectra into two components: a rapidly rotating Be star and a slowly rotating B star with low surface gravity (log g approximate to 2.75). Both stars show periodic radial velocity (RV) variability, but the RV semi-amplitude of the B star's orbit is K-B = (62.7 +/- 1) km s(-1), while that of the Be star is only K-Be = (4.5 +/- 2) km s(-1). This implies that the B star is less massive by at least a factor of 10. The surface abundances of the B star bear imprints of CNO burning. We argue that the B star is a bloated, recently stripped helium star with mass approximate to 0.5 M-circle dot that is currently contracting to become a hot subdwarf. The orbital motion of the Be star obviates the need for a BH to explain the B star's motion. A stripped-star model reproduces the observed luminosity of the system, while a normal star with the B star's temperature and gravity would be more than 10 times too luminous. HR 6819 and the binary LB-1 probably formed through similar channels. We use MESA (Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics) models to investigate their evolutionary history, finding that they likely formed from intermediate-mass (3-7 M-circle dot) primaries stripped by slightly lower-mass secondaries and are progenitors to Be + sdOB binaries such as phi Persei. The lifetime of their current evolutionary phase is on average 2 x 10(5) yr, of the order of half a per cent of the total lifetime of the Be phase. This implies that many Be stars have hot subdwarf and white dwarf companions, and that a substantial fraction (20-100 per cent) of field Be stars form through accretion of material from a binary companion.

Automated summary

HR 6819 was originally believed to be a triple star system, but is actually a binary system without a black hole. It consists of a rapidly rotating Be star and a slowly rotating B star, with the B star being at least 10 times less massive than the Be star. The B star is thought to be a bloated, recently stripped helium star that is currently contracting to become a hot subdwarf.