Population Synthesis of Galactic Be-star Binaries with a Helium-star Companion

LB-1 was originally suggested to harbor a very massive (similar to 70 M) black hole, but was recently suggested to be a post-mass transfer binary containing a Be star and a helium (He) star. In this paper, we use the binary population synthesis method to simulate the potential population of the Be-He binaries in the Milky Way. Mass transfer process during the progenitor binary evolution plays a vital role in determining the possible properties of the Be-He binary population. By constructing a range of physical models with significantly different mass-transfer efficiencies, we obtain the predicted distributions at the current epoch of the component masses and the orbital periods for the Be-He binaries. In particular, we show that, LB-1 very likely has evolved through non-conservative mass transfer if it is indeed a Be-He system. We estimate that there are more than 10(3) Be-He binaries with V-band apparent magnitudes brighter than LB-1.

Automated summary

In this study, the potential population of Be-He binaries in the Milky Way was simulated using the binary population synthesis method. It was found that LB-1 likely evolved through non-conservative mass transfer to become a Be-He system, and more than 10^3 bright Be-He binaries were estimated to exist in the galaxy.