XX Persei

XX Persei

XX Persei (circled) near the Double Cluster and Comet Lovejoy Credit: Juan lacruz
Observation data Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation	Perseus
Right ascension	02^h 03^m 09.35854^s[1]
Declination	55° 13′ 56.6229″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	7.9 - 9.0[2]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage	Red supergiant
Spectral type	M4Ib + B7V[3]
Variable type	SRc[4]
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ)	RA: −1.263[1] mas/yr Dec.: −1.819[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	0.3980 ± 0.0316 mas[1]
Distance	6,614+1,060 −812 ly (2,029+325 −249 pc)[5]
Absolute magnitude (MV)	−4.6[6]
Details
Mass	16[6] M☉
Radius	718+80 −56[7] R☉
Luminosity	42,000[8] L☉
Temperature	3,339[5] K
Other designations
XX Per, BD+54°444, GSC 03689-01837, HD 12401, HIP 9582, IRC+50052, 2MASS J02030935+5513566, HV 3414, SAO 22875, AAVSO 0156+54
Database references
SIMBAD	data

XX Persei (IRC +50052 / HIP 9582 / BD+54°444) is a semiregular variable red supergiant star in the constellation Perseus, between the Double Cluster and the border with Andromeda.

Variability

A visual band light curve for XX Persei, plotted from ASAS-SN data^[9]

In 1917 it was announced that Ida E. Woods had discovered that this star is a variable star, by examining 520 photographs taken from December 1, 1887 through February 4, 1913.^[10] It was given its variable star designation in 1921.^[11] XX Persei is a semiregular variable star of sub-type SRc, indicating a cool supergiant. The General Catalogue of Variable Stars gives the period as 415 days.^[4] It also shows a long secondary period which was originally given at 4,100 days.^[6] A more recent study shows only slow variations with a period of 3,150 ± 1,000 days.^[2] Another study failed to find any long period up to 10,000 days.^[12]

Distance

The most likely distance of XX Per is 2,290 pc, from assumed membership of the Perseus OB1 association.^[13] Gaia Data Release 3 includes a parallax of 0.3980±0.0316 mas, corresponding to a distance of around 2,500 pc.^[1]

Characteristics

XX Per is a red supergiant of spectral type M4Ib with an effective temperature below 4,000 K. It has a large infrared excess, indicating surrounding dust at a temperature of 900 K, but no masers have been detected.^[14][15]

XX Persei has a mass of 16 solar masses, above the limit beyond which stars end their lives as supernovae.^[6] This makes XX Persei similar to the more well-known red supergiant Antares.^[16]

Companions

XX Persei is listed in multiple star catalogues with a companion of magnitude 9.8 223″ away.^[17] This star is BD+54°445 and it is an unrelated foreground object. In addition, the spectrum of XX Persei shows absorption lines of a hot companion too close to be resolved. The combined spectral type has been given as M4Ib + B7V,^[3] while the UV spectrum of the companion has been used to derive a spectral classification of A.^[18]

See also

• RS Persei
• S Persei

References

1. Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
2. Kiss, L. L.; Szabó, Gy. M.; Bedding, T. R. (2006). "Variability in red supergiant stars: Pulsations, long secondary periods and convection noise". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 372 (4): 1721–1734. arXiv:astro-ph/0608438. Bibcode:2006MNRAS.372.1721K. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10973.x. S2CID 5203133.
3. Proust, D.; Ochsenbein, F.; Pettersen, B. R. (1981). "A catalogue of variable-visual binary stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 44: 179. Bibcode:1981A&AS...44..179P.
4. Samus, N. N.; Durlevich, O. V.; et al. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S. 1. Bibcode:2009yCat....102025S.
5. Norris, Ryan P. (2019). Seeing Stars Like Never Before: A Long-term Interferometric Imaging Survey of Red Supergiants (PDF) (PhD). Georgia State University.
6. Stothers, R.; Leung, K. C. (1971). "Luminosities, masses and periodicities of massive red supergiants". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 10: 290. Bibcode:1971A&A....10..290S.
7. Ryan Norris. "Student Science at NMT: Learning Optical Interferometry Through Projects on Evolved Stars" (PDF). CHARA.
8. Messineo, M.; Brown, A. G. A. (2019). "A Catalog of Known Galactic K-M Stars of Class I Candidate Red Supergiants in Gaia DR2". The Astronomical Journal. 158 (1): 20. arXiv:1905.03744. Bibcode:2019AJ....158...20M. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab1cbd. S2CID 148571616.
9. "ASAS-SN Variable Stars Database". ASAS-SN Variable Stars Database. ASAS-SN. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
10. Campbell, L.; Pickering, E. C. (July 12, 1917). "Twenty-one New Variable Stars". Harvard College Observatory Circular. 201: 1–2. Bibcode:1917HarCi.201....1C. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
11. Hartwig; Müller (January 1921). "Benennung von neu entdeckten veränderlichen Sternen". Astronomische Nachrichten. 212 (19): 353–374. Bibcode:1921AN....212..353.. doi:10.1002/asna.19202121902. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
12. Percy, John R.; Sato, Hiromitsu (2009). "Long Secondary Periods in Pulsating Red Supergiant Stars". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 103 (1): 11. Bibcode:2009JRASC.103...11P.
13. Reiter, Megan; Marengo, Massimo; Hora, Joseph L.; Fazio, Giovanni G. (2015). "A Spitzer/IRAC characterization of Galactic AGB and RSG stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 447 (4): 3909. arXiv:1501.02749. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.447.3909R. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu2725. S2CID 118515353.
14. Fok, Thomas K. T.; Nakashima, Jun-Ichi; Yung, Bosco H. K.; Hsia, Chih-Hao; Deguchi, Shuji (2012). "Maser Observations of Westerlund 1 and Comprehensive Considerations on Maser Properties of Red Supergiants Associated with Massive Clusters". The Astrophysical Journal. 760 (1): 65. arXiv:1209.6427. Bibcode:2012ApJ...760...65F. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/760/1/65. S2CID 53393926.
15. Verheyen, L.; Messineo, M.; Menten, K. M. (2012). "SiO maser emission from red supergiants across the Galaxy . I. Targets in massive star clusters". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 541: A36. arXiv:1203.4727. Bibcode:2012A&A...541A..36V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201118265. S2CID 55630819.
16. Neuhäuser, Ralph; Torres, Guillermo; Mugrauer, Markus; Neuhäuser, Dagmar L.; Chapman, Jesse; Luge, Daniela; Cosci, Matteo (2022-09-05). "Colour evolution of Betelgeuse and Antares over two millennia, derived from historical records, as a new constraint on mass and age". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 516 (1): 693–719. arXiv:2207.04702. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac1969. ISSN 0035-8711.
17. Mason, B. D.; et al. (2014), "The Washington Visual Double Star Catalog", The Astronomical Journal, 122 (6): 3466, Bibcode:2001AJ....122.3466M, doi:10.1086/323920, retrieved 2016-09-04
18. Buss, Richard H.; Snow, Theodore P. (1988). "Hot components and circumstellar grains in M supergiant syncretic binaries". Astrophysical Journal. 335: 331. Bibcode:1988ApJ...335..331B. doi:10.1086/166931.