Evidence for stellar mergers of evolved massive binaries: blue supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This study provides evidence that many blue supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud are the result of binary stellar mergers, supported by observational data and novel merger models.

Contribution

It introduces new 1D binary merger models and links them to observed properties of blue supergiants, suggesting mergers are common in their formation.

Findings

Most blue supergiants match merger model predictions.

High nitrogen-to-carbon and oxygen ratios support merger origin.

Blue supergiants are structurally similar to merger products.

Abstract

Blue supergiants are the brightest stars in their host galaxies and yet their evolutionary status has been a long-standing problem in stellar astrophysics. In this pioneering work, we present a large sample of 59 early B-type supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud with newly derived stellar parameters and identify the signatures of stars born from binary mergers among them. We simulate novel 1D merger models of binaries consisting of supergiants with hydrogen-free cores (primaries) and main-sequence companions (secondaries) and consider the effects of interaction of the secondary with the core of the primary. We follow the evolution of the new-born $16-40$ M$_{\odot}$ stars until core-carbon depletion, close to their final pre-explosion structure. Unlike stars which are born alone, stars born from such stellar mergers are blue throughout their core helium-burning phase and reproduce the surface gravities and Hertzsprung-Russel diagram positions of most of our sample. This indicates that the observed blue supergiants are structurally similar to merger-born stars. Moreover, the large nitrogen-to-carbon and oxygen ratios, and helium enhancements exhibited by at least half our data sample are uniquely consistent with our model predictions, leading us to conclude that a large fraction of blue supergiants are indeed products of binary mergers.