A Century of Studies of the Object with the B[e] Phenomenon HD 50138

Buroughs, Holly; Miroshnichenko, Anatoly S.; Danford, Steve; Aarnio, Alicia N.; Zharikov, Sergei V.; Van Winckel, Hans; Manset, Nadine; Raj, Ashish; Chojnowski, Stephen Drew; Rauw, Grégor; Khokhlov, Azamat A.

doi:10.3390/galaxies13060122

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A Century of Studies of the Object with the B[e] Phenomenon HD 50138

Buroughs, Holly; Miroshnichenko, Anatoly S.; Danford, Steve et al.

2025 • In Galaxies, 13 (6), p. 122

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/337241

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10.3390/galaxies13060122

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Keywords :

spectroscopy; photometry; emission-line stars; circumstellar matter

Abstract :

[en] HD 50138 is a 6.6 mag emission-line B–type star, whose nature is still controversial. It has been thought to be a pre-main-sequence Herbig Be star and an evolved object with the B[e] phenomenon, possibly a mass-transferring binary system. However, it has mostly been studied on short timescales. We collected ∼1000 medium- and high-resolution spectra and available optical photometric data, which cover a time frame from 1981 to 2025, and extended the study from emission lines to a range of absorption lines. A few episodes of dramatic emission-line strength variations were uncovered as well as fast variations of the absorption line widths on timescales of several days. We also found a few previously unreported fadings of the star’s optical brightness seemingly associated with the Hα line profile changes. At the same time, it is still unclear whether the object is a single star or a binary system, as no regular variations of its observed parameters have been detected.

Research Center/Unit :

STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège

Disciplines :

Space science, astronomy & astrophysics

Author, co-author :

Buroughs, Holly ; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina—Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA

Miroshnichenko, Anatoly S. ; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina—Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA ; Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute, Observatory, 23, Almaty 050020, Kazakhstan

Danford, Steve ; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina—Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA

Aarnio, Alicia N. ; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina—Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA

Zharikov, Sergei V. ; Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, AP 106, Ensenada 22800, B.C., Mexico

Van Winckel, Hans ; Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D Bus 2401, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

Manset, Nadine ; Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, 65-1238 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI 96743, USA

Raj, Ashish ; Indian Centre for Space Physics, 466 Barakhola, Netai Nagar, Kolkata 700099, West Bengal, India ; Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science (UPSIFS), Aurawan, P.O. Banthra, Lucknow 226401, Uttar Pradesh, India

Chojnowski, Stephen Drew ; NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA

Rauw, Grégor ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Groupe d'astrophysique des hautes énergies (GAPHE)

Khokhlov, Azamat A. ; Faculty of Physics and Technology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi Ave., 71, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan

Language :

English

Title :

A Century of Studies of the Object with the B[e] Phenomenon HD 50138

Publication date :

30 October 2025

Journal title :

Galaxies

eISSN :

2075-4434

Publisher :

MDPI

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

122

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/13/6/122/pdf

Funding text :

The work is carried out within the framework of the Project No. BR24992759 Development of the concept for the first Kazakhstani orbital cislunar telescope—Phase I, financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This research was funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP19175392). S.Z. acknowledges PAPIIT grants IN102120 and IN119323.

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