Decade-long time-monitoring of candidate Luminous Blue Variable Stars in the two very metal-deficient compact dwarf galaxies DDO 68 and PHL 293B

TL;DR

This study monitors candidate luminous blue variable stars in two metal-poor dwarf galaxies over a decade, revealing different variability patterns and persistent stellar outbursts, contributing to understanding massive star evolution in low-metallicity environments.

Contribution

It provides the first long-term spectral monitoring of cLBVs in extremely metal-deficient galaxies, highlighting their variability and transient nature over 16 years.

Findings

DDO 68 cLBV experienced an outburst with a 1000-fold increase in Halpha luminosity.

PHL 293B cLBV showed nearly constant broad emission features over 16 years.

Both cLBVs exhibit high-velocity P Cygni profiles, indicating strong stellar winds.

Abstract

We have studied the spectral time variations of candidate luminous blue variable stars (cLBV) in two low-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxies, DDO 68 and PHL 293B. The LBV in DDO 68, located in HII region #3, shows an outburst, with an increase of more than 1000 times in Halpha luminosity during the period 2008-2010. The broad emission of the HI and HeI lines display a P Cygni profile, with a relatively constant terminal velocity of ~800 km/s, reaching a maximum luminosity L(Halpha) of ~2x10^38 erg/s, with a FWHM of ~1000-1200 km/s. On the other hand, since the discovery of a cLBV in 2001 in PHL 293B, the fluxes of the broad components and the broad-to-narrow flux ratios of the HI and HeI emission lines in this galaxy have remained nearly constant over 16 years, with small variations. The luminosity of the broad Halpha component varies between ~2x10^38 erg/s and ~10^39 erg/s, with the FWHM varying in the range ~500-1500 km/s. Unusually persistent P Cygni features are clearly visible until the end of 2020 despite a decrease of the broad-to-narrow flux ratio in the most recent years. A terminal velocity of ~800 km/s is measured from the P Cygni profile, similar to the one in DDO 68, although the latter is 3.7 more metal-deficient than PHL 293B. The relative constancy of the broad Halpha luminosity in PHL 293B suggests that it is due to a long-lived stellar transient of type LBV/SN IIn.