Double White Dwarf Binaries in SDSS-V DR19 : The discovery of a rare DA+DQ white dwarf binary with 31 hour orbital period

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and analysis of a rare DA+DQ white dwarf binary with a 31-hour orbit, providing insights into binary evolution and the formation of such uncommon systems.

Contribution

The paper presents the first detailed model of a rare DA+DQ white dwarf binary, expanding the known sample to four and analyzing its evolutionary history.

Findings

Binary has a 31.17-hour orbital period.

System consists of 0.42 and 0.49 solar mass white dwarfs.

Merger timescale estimated at 450 billion years.

Abstract

Binaries of two white dwarfs (WDs) are an important class of astrophysical objects that are theorized to lead to Type Ia supernovae and are also used to gain insight into complex processes involved in stellar binary evolution. We report the discovery of SDSS~J090618.44+022311.6, a rare post-common envelope binary of a hydrogen atmospheric DA WD and a DQ WD which shows carbon absorption features, and is only the fourth such binary known. We combine the available spectroscopic, photometric, and radial velocity data to provide a self-consistent model for the binary and discuss its history as a binary DA+DQ. The system has a period of 31.17 hours with masses of 0.42 M$_{\odot}$ for DA WD and 0.49 M$_{\odot}$ for DQ WD. The corresponding cooling ages point to an Algol type of evolution with the lower mass star evolving into a DA WD first and later the massive DQ WD is formed. The system has a merger timescale of 450 Gyrs and will lead to the formation of a massive WD. With this, the number of known DA+DQ WD binaries has increased to four, and we find that their stellar properties all lie in the same range. Detailed study of more such systems is vital to understand common processes involved in the formation of this rare class of binaries and give insights towards the broader picture of WD spectral evolution.