天文学家利用哈勃太空望远镜的紫外光谱数据，发现了四颗此前隐藏在红矮星伴星背后的白矮星，这些系统全部位于距地球65光年以内[1]。其中一颗编号为G 203-47的白矮星距太阳仅25光年，成为已知距离太阳第九近的白矮星[1]。这项研究由沃里克大学和科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的研究人员合作完成，论文已发表于《皇家天文学会月刊》[1]。
G 203-47系统展现出独特的物理特征。该系统中的红矮星需要超过100天才能完成一次自转，但其围绕白矮星的公转周期仅为14.9天[1]。确认这颗白矮星的存在花费了研究人员27年的时间[1]。
研究结果与理论预测高度契合——模型预测该区域应存在4至5个紧密轨道的白矮星-红矮星系统，而此次发现恰好证实了四个[1]。沃里克大学研究员玛丽·奥布莱恩博士领导的团队还指出，在20秒差距范围内可能还有9至10个未被发现的白矮星双星系统[1]。
Astronomers using ultraviolet spectroscopic data from the Hubble Space Telescope have identified four white dwarf stars previously concealed within binary star systems located within 65 light-years of Earth [1]. One of these white dwarfs, designated G 203-47, sits remarkably close at just 25 light-years from the Sun, making it the ninth nearest known white dwarf [1]. The discovery of these systems has taken considerable time to confirm; researchers spent 27 years establishing the presence of the white dwarf in G 203-47 alone [1].
The G 203-47 system exhibits unusual characteristics that illuminate the distinct evolutionary pathways of white dwarf binary systems [1]. Its companion red dwarf requires more than 100 days to complete a single rotation, yet orbits the white dwarf in only 14.9 days [1]. This dramatic disparity in rotation periods suggests a complex formation and interaction history between the two stars. The findings align closely with theoretical predictions, which anticipated the discovery of 4–5 tightly orbiting white dwarf–red dwarf systems within the immediate galactic neighborhood [1]. Researchers estimate that an additional 9–10 undiscovered white dwarf binary systems may exist within 20 parsecs of Earth [1].
The research, led by Dr. Mairi O'Brien of the University of Warwick in collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder, has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society [1].