SALT revisits DYCen: A rapidly evolving strontium-rich single helium star

Abstract

The hydrogen-deficient star DYCen has been reported as an R CrB-type variable, an extreme helium star (with some hydrogen), and as a single-lined spectroscopic binary. It has been associated with a dramatic change in visual brightness and colour corresponding to a change in effective temperature ( Teff) of some 20 000K in the last century. To characterize the binary orbit and Teff changes more precisely, new high-resolution spectroscopy has been obtained with SALT. The previous orbital period is not confirmed; previous measurements may have been confused by the presence of pulsations. Including data from earlier epochs (1987, 2002, and 2010), self-consistent spectral analyses from all four epochs demonstrate an increase in Teff from 18 800 to 24 400K between 1987 and 2015. Line profiles demonstrate that the surface rotation has increased by a factor of 2 over the same interval. This is commensurate with the change in Teff and an overall contraction. Rotation will exceed critical if contraction continues. The 1987 spectrum shows evidence of a very high abundance of the s-process element strontium. The very rapid evolution, non-negligible surface hydrogen and high surface strontium point to a history involving a very late thermal pulse. Observations over the next 30 yr should look for a decreasing pulsation period, reactivation of R CrB-type activity as the star seeks to shed angular momentum and increasing illumination by emission lines from nebular material ejected in the past.