THA 15-31: Discovery with VLT/X-Shooter and Swift/UVOT of a new symbiotic star of the accreting-only variety

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and detailed characterization of a new symbiotic star, THA 15-31, using multi-wavelength observations, revealing its stellar components, accretion processes, and circumstellar environment.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed observational characterization of a symbiotic star of the accreting-only type, including its stellar components, accretion rate, and circumstellar dust properties.

Findings

THA 15-31 is a symbiotic star with an M6III red giant and an accreting companion.

The system is located about 12 kpc away, with high accretion luminosity (~100 Lsun).

Emission lines suggest an optically thick accretion disk and low orbital inclination.

Abstract

We report the discovery and characterization of a new symbiotic star of the accreting-only variety, which we observed in the optical/near-infrared (NIR) with VLT/X-Shooter and in the X-rays/ultraviolet with Swift/UVOT+XRT. The new symbiotic star, THA 15-31, was previously described as a pre-main sequence star belonging to the Lupus~3 association. Our observations, ancillary data, and Gaia EDR3 parallax indicate that THA 15-31 is a symbiotic star composed of an M6III red giant and an accreting companion, is subject to E(B-V)=0.38 reddening, and is located at a distance of ~12 kpc and at 1.8 kpc above the Galactic plane in the outskirts of the Bulge. The luminosity of the accreting companion is ~100 Lsun, placing THA 15-31 among the symbiotic stars accreting at a high rate (2.5e-08 Msun/yr if the accretion is occurring on a white dwarf of 1 Msun). The observed emission lines originate primarily from HI, HeI, and FeII, with no HeII or other high-excitation lines observed; a sharp central absorption superimposed on the Balmer emission lines is observed, while all other lines have a simple Gaussian-like profile. The emission from the companion dominates over the M6III red giant at $U$ and $B$-band wavelengths, and is consistent with an origin primarily in an optically thick accretion disk. No significant photometric variability is observed at optical or NIR wavelengths, suggesting either a face-on orbital orientation and/or that the red giant is far from Roche-lobe filling conditions. The profile of emission lines supports a low orbital inclination if they form primarily in the accretion disk. An excess emission is present in AllWISE W3 (12 micron) and W4 (22 micron) data, radiating a luminosity ~35 Lsun, consistent with thermal emission from optically thin circumstellar dust.