First results from the swarms survey. SDSS 1257+5428: A nearby, massive white dwarf binary with a likely neutron star or black hole companion

Abstract

We present the first results from the SWARMS survey, an ongoing project to identify compact white dwarf (WD) binaries in the spectroscopic catalog of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The first object identified by SWARMS, SDSS 1257+5428, is a single-lined spectroscopic binary in a circular orbit with a period of 4.56 hr and a semiamplitude of 322.7 ± 6.3 km s-1. From the spectrum and photometry, we estimate a WD mass of 0.92+0.28-0.32 M ⊙. Together with the orbital parameters of the binary, this implies that the unseen companion must be more massive than 1.62+0.20-0.25 M ⊙, and is in all likelihood either a neutron star or a black hole. At an estimated distance of 48+10-19 pc, this would be the closest known stellar remnant of a supernova explosion. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.