UOCS. XVI. Census of post mass-transfer binaries across various evolutionary phases in M67

M67 is a well-studied solar-metallicity old open cluster that hosts a diverse set of exotic stellar populations that formed via mass transfer (MT). While case A, B, and C MT systems have been individually examined in several clusters, a comprehensive investigation of all MT types in different evolutionary stages within a single cluster remains limited. We detect post-MT systems using two different methods and thereby obtain a holistic view of the binary evolution and MT mechanisms prevalent in M67. We constructed spectral energy distributions for 141 UV-detected stars in M67 using far-UV data from AstroSat/UVIT, combined with archival data from Swift/UVOT, GALEX, Gaia, 2MASS, WISE, and other sources. Furthermore, we performed a detailed chemical abundance analysis of cluster members using high-resolution spectroscopy from the GALAH DR3+ survey. We identified 11 new main-sequence (MS) + white dwarf (WD) binaries with previously undetected hotter companions, effectively doubling the known MS+WD binary population in M67. This includes five confirmed extremely low-mass WDs with orbital periods <100–200 days and no chemical peculiarities, confirming case A or B post-MT systems. We also detected 13 long-period (>1000 days) single-lined spectroscopic binaries with enhancements in s-process elements (Ba, La, and Y), indicating case C post-MT systems enriched by thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch companions that have evolved into undetected WDs. We demonstrate that M67 hosts a diverse population of post-MT binaries formed via case A, B, and C mechanisms. The unified view makes M67 a key benchmark for studying binary star evolution and highlights the role of UV observations and high-resolution spectroscopy in uncovering hidden stellar histories.

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Publication Details

Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202555511
Primary Topic
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Type
article
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article

UOCS. XVI. Census of post mass-transfer binaries across various evolutionary phases in M67

Annapurni Subramaniam, Arumalla B. S. Reddy, Harshit Pal, Vikrant V. Jadhav
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
article

UOCS. XVI. Census of post mass-transfer binaries across various evolutionary phases in M67

Annapurni Subramaniam, Arumalla B. S. Reddy, Harshit Pal, Vikrant V. Jadhav
article en

Abstract

M67 is a well-studied solar-metallicity old open cluster that hosts a diverse set of exotic stellar populations that formed via mass transfer (MT). While case A, B, and C MT systems have been individually examined in several clusters, a comprehensive investigation of all MT types in different evolutionary stages within a single cluster remains limited. We detect post-MT systems using two different methods and thereby obtain a holistic view of the binary evolution and MT mechanisms prevalent in M67. We constructed spectral energy distributions for 141 UV-detected stars in M67 using far-UV data from AstroSat/UVIT, combined with archival data from Swift/UVOT, GALEX, Gaia, 2MASS, WISE, and other sources. Furthermore, we performed a detailed chemical abundance analysis of cluster members using high-resolution spectroscopy from the GALAH DR3+ survey. We identified 11 new main-sequence (MS) + white dwarf (WD) binaries with previously undetected hotter companions, effectively doubling the known MS+WD binary population in M67. This includes five confirmed extremely low-mass WDs with orbital periods <100–200 days and no chemical peculiarities, confirming case A or B post-MT systems. We also detected 13 long-period (>1000 days) single-lined spectroscopic binaries with enhancements in s-process elements (Ba, La, and Y), indicating case C post-MT systems enriched by thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch companions that have evolved into undetected WDs. We demonstrate that M67 hosts a diverse population of post-MT binaries formed via case A, B, and C mechanisms. The unified view makes M67 a key benchmark for studying binary star evolution and highlights the role of UV observations and high-resolution spectroscopy in uncovering hidden stellar histories.

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
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UOCS. XVI. Census of post mass-transfer binaries across various evolutionary phases in M67 — Annapurni Subramaniam, Arumalla B. S. Reddy, et al. · Astronomy and Astrophysics (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS