GU Mon, a high-mass eclipsing overcontact binary in the young open cluster Dolidze 25

TL;DR

GU Mon is a unique high-mass overcontact binary in a low-metallicity young cluster, with identical B-type stars sharing a common envelope, providing insights into early stellar interaction and evolution.

Contribution

This study provides the first detailed orbital and stellar parameters of GU Mon, revealing its overcontact nature and potential future merger, in a low-metallicity environment.

Findings

Both stars are B1 V type with 9 solar masses.

The system has a very high fill-out factor (>0.8).

The stars are in a common envelope and likely to merge.

Abstract

Context. The eclipsing binary GU Mon is located in the star-forming cluster Dolidze 25, which has the lowest metallicity measured in a Milky Way young cluster. Aims. GU Mon has been identified as a short-period eclipsing binary with two early B-type components. We set out to derive its orbital and stellar parameters. Methods. We present a comprehensive analysis, including B and V light curves and 11 high-resolution spectra, to verify the orbital period and determine parameters. We use the stellar atmosphere code FASTWIND to obtain stellar parameters and create templates for cross-correlation. We obtain a model to fit the light and radial-velocity curves using the Wilson-Devinney code iteratively and simultaneously. Results. The two components of GU Mon are identical stars of spectral type B1 V, with the same mass and temperature. The lightcurves are typical of an EW-type binary. The spectroscopic and photometric analyses agree on a period of 0.896640 +- 0.000007 d. We determine a mass of 9.0 +- 0.6 Msun for each component and temperatures of 28 000 +- 2 000 K. Both values are consistent with the spectral type. The two stars are overfilling their respective Roche lobes, sharing a common envelope, and therefore the orbit is synchronised and circularised. Conclusions. The GU Mon system has a fill-out factor above 0.8, containing two dwarf B-type stars on the main sequence. The two stars are in a very advanced stage of interaction, with their extreme physical similarity likely due to the common envelope. The expected evolution of such a system will very probably lead to a merger while still on the main sequence.