Discovery of a Candidate Hypervelocity Star Originating from the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

Huang, Yang and Li, Qingzheng and Zhang, Huawei and Li, Xinyi and Sun, Weixiang and Chang, Jiang and Dong, Xiaobo and Liu, Xiaowei (2021) Discovery of a Candidate Hypervelocity Star Originating from the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. The Astrophysical Journal, 907 (2). L42. ISSN 2041-8213

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Abstract

In this Letter, we report the discovery of an intriguing hypervelocity star (HVS; J1443+1453) candidate that is probably from the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal galaxy (Sgr dSph). The star is an old and very metal-poor low-mass main-sequence turn-off star (age ∼14.0 Gyr and [Fe/H] = −2.23 dex) and has a total velocity of ${559.01}_{-87.40}^{+135.07}$ km s−1 in the Galactic rest frame and a heliocentric distance of ${2.90}_{-0.48}^{+0.72}$ kpc. The velocity of J1443+1453 is larger than the escape speed at its position, suggesting that it is a promising HVS candidate. By reconstructing its trajectory in the Galactic potential, we find that the orbit of J1443+1453 intersects closely with that of Sgr dSph ${37.8}_{-6.0}^{+4.6}$ Myr ago, when the latter has its latest pericentric passage through the Milky Way. The encounter occurs at a distance ${2.42}_{-0.77}^{+1.80}$ kpc from the center of Sgr dSph, a distance that is smaller than the size of the Sgr dSph. The chemical properties of this star are also consistent with those of an Sgr dSph-associated globular cluster, or of the Sgr stream member stars. Our finding suggests that J1443+1453 is an HVS that is either tidally stripped from the Sgr dSph or ejected from the Sgr dSph by the gravitational slingshot effect, requiring a (central) massive/intermediate-mass black hole or a (central) massive primordial black hole in the Sgr dSph.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: STM Repository > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: Managing Editor
Date Deposited: 18 May 2023 05:15
Last Modified: 08 Apr 2024 09:29
URI: http://classical.goforpromo.com/id/eprint/3241

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