Discovery of a possible symbiotic binary in the Large Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This paper reports the possible discovery of a symbiotic star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, identified through spectral signatures indicating both hot and cool stellar components, adding to the scarce known systems in this galaxy.

Contribution

First identification of a potential symbiotic star in the LMC based on spectral analysis, expanding the catalog of such systems in this galaxy.

Findings

Detected high ionization emission lines indicating a hot component.

Observed molecular absorption bands indicating a cool component.

Proposed the object as a symbiotic star based on spectral signatures.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a possible symbiotic star, in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The object under consideration here, designated as RP 870, was detected during the course of a comprehensive H$\alpha$ survey of the LMC by Reid & Parker (2012). The spectrum of RP 870 showed high ionization emission lines of He I, He II and [O III] and molecular absorption bands of TiO $\lambda$$\lambda$6180, 7100. The collective signatures of a hot component (high excitation/ionization lines) and of a cool component (TiO molecular bands) are seen in RP 870, from which we propose it as a symbiotic star. Since known symbiotic systems are rare in the LMC, possibly less than a dozen are known, we thought the present detection to be interesting enough to be reported.