British astronomers from the University of Leeds have discovered that in some two-star systems, a third massive star may secretly exist, feeding on the matter of its neighbors like a vampire. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
Scientists reached this conclusion after analyzing data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission.
Stars called “vampire” or Be type stars are often surrounded by rings of superheated gas. These luminaries are extremely bright and their masses range from 2 to 16 masses of our Sun.
The current leading theory suggests that the disks around Be stars are created when they spin rapidly and tear off material from nearby stars. This material turns the “vampire” star even more. It was previously believed that such a situation only occurs in binary systems, but recent observations have shown the possibility of the existence of triple systems in which the Be star is fed from two sources simultaneously.
When the victim stars come close enough to the Be-type stars, the mass of the former can be transferred to the “vampire”. However, instead of falling directly onto its surface, this material first forms a rotating disk. Thus, the companions of the star Be gradually become too faint to be detected.
The team’s findings could shed light on how binary systems with stellar remnants create ripples in the fabric of space-time, called gravitational waves.
Astronomers have previously found extinct a “vampire” star that shoots clots of matter.