Contribution of primordial binary evolution to the two blue-straggler sequences in globular cluster M30

TL;DR

This study investigates how binary star evolution contributes to the formation of two distinct blue-straggler sequences in globular cluster M30, highlighting the roles of mass transfer, white-dwarf companions, and dynamical effects.

Contribution

It demonstrates that binary evolution can produce both blue and red sequence blue stragglers, emphasizing the importance of cluster dynamics in their formation.

Findings

Blue sequence blue stragglers have white-dwarf companions.

Majority of red sequence blue stragglers are still undergoing mass transfer.

Dynamical effects are crucial to explain the observed blue sequence fraction.

Abstract

Two blue-straggler sequences discovered in globular cluster M30 provide a strong constraint on the formation mechanisms of blue stragglers. We study the formation of the blue-straggler binaries through binary evolution, and find that binary evolution can contribute to the blue stragglers in both of the sequences. Whether a blue straggler is located in the blue sequence or red sequence depends on the contribution of the mass donor to the total luminosity of the binary, which is generally observed as a single star in globular clusters. The blue stragglers in the blue sequence have a cool white-dwarf companion, while the majority ($\sim 60\%$) of the objects in the red sequence are the binaries that are still experiencing mass transfer, but there are also some objects that the donors have just finished the mass transfer (the stripped-core stars, $\sim 10\%$) or the blue stragglers (the accretors) have evolved away from the blue sequence ($\sim 30\%$). Meanwhile, W UMa contact binaries found in both sequences may be explained by various mass ratios, that is, W UMa contact binaries in the red sequence have two components with comparable masses (e.g. mass ratio $q\sim$ 0.3-1.0), while those in the blue sequence have low mass ratio (e.g. $q<$ 0.3). However, the fraction of blue sequence in M30 cannot be reproduced by binary population synthesis if we assumed the initial parameters of a binary sample to be the same as that of the field. This possible indicates that dynamical effects on binary systems is very important in globular clusters.