The most extreme interactive scene in the universe may be that two stars obviously coexist in a tight system, but because neither emits visible light, they play hide-and-seek circling each other.
The system, called LP 413-53AB, contains two ultra-cool dwarfs (Ultra-cool dwarf) that do not emit visible light (mostly infrared light) because of their extremely low temperature. Scientists from Northwestern University and University of California, San Diego Confirmed while combing through archived data.
The researchers say the two stars are so low-mass that they are gravitationally locked to each other, but their infrared light looks like a single star to the researchers until March 2022 with the Keck telescope. Further investigation in July, October, and December revealed that they were 2 separate entities orbiting each other in just 20.5 hours.
The researchers believe that the LP 413-53AB system may have existed for billions of years, and it is one of the binary star systems with the shortest orbital period ever detected. It is likely that the interaction will gradually approach over time, or the third star has disappeared After the star is thrown out of the system, the two stars are brought closer together.
Ultra-cool dwarfs are dimmer than the sun, and planets that maintain liquid water on the surface must be closer to the star. However, the distance of the habitable zone of the LP 413-53AB system is exactly the same as the orbital distance of the star, so the system is basically unable to breed planets in the habitable zone.
This type of system is rare. Although the exploration of terrestrial planets is less fun, the new observational data will help strengthen the theoretical model of binary star formation and evolution.
(Source of the first image: Northwest University)
