FUSE spectroscopy of sdOB primary of the post common-envelope binary LB 3459 (AA Dor)

TL;DR

This study uses FUSE far-UV spectroscopy and NLTE models to analyze the sdOB primary of LB 3459, identifying new metal lines, refining surface gravity measurements, and addressing previous discrepancies in mass determination.

Contribution

It provides the first identification of phosphorus and sulfur in LB 3459 and offers a more precise surface gravity measurement using state-of-the-art spectral analysis.

Findings

Confirmed effective temperature of 42 kK.

Identified phosphorus and sulfur with solar and 0.01 solar abundances.

Measured rotational velocity of 35 +/- 5 km/sec.

Abstract

LB 3459 (AA Dor) is an eclipsing, close, post common-envelope binary consisting of an sdOB primary star and an unseen secondary with an extraordinarly low mass - formally a brown dwarf. A recent NLTE spectral analysis shows a discrepancy with the surface gravity, which is derived from analyses of radial-velocity and lightcurves. We aim at precisely determing of the photospheric parameters of the primary, especially of the surface gravity, and searching for weak metal lines in the far UV. We performed a detailed spectral analysis of the far-UV spectrum of LB 3459 obtained with FUSE by means of state-of-the-art NLTE model-atmosphere techniques. A strong contamination of the far-UV spectrum of LB 3459 by interstellar line absorption hampers a precise determination of the photospheric properties of its primary star. Its effective temperature (42 kK) was confirmed by the evaluation of new ionization equilibria. For the first time, phosphorus and sulfur have been identified in the spectrum of LB 3459. Their photospheric abundances are solar and 0.01 times solar, respectively. From the C III 1174-1177A multiplet, we can measure the rotational velocity of 35 +/- 5 km/sec of the primary of LB 3459 and confirm that the rotation is bound. From a re-analysis of optical and UV spectra, we determine a higher log g = 5.3 (cgs) that reduces the discrepancy in mass determination in comparison to analyses of radial-velocity and lightcurves. However, the problem is not completely solved.