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Evidence of a supernova origin for the black hole in the system GRO J1655 - 40

Nature volume 401, pages 142–144 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Stars with masses greater than about ten solar masses are thought to end their lives either in a supernova1 or in a direct gravitational collapse process2, either of which could have a black hole as a remnant. But there is as yet no direct observational evidence to support either gravitational collapse in general or the formation of black hole remnants in particular. Here we report a large overabundance of oxygen, magnesium, silicon and sulphur in the atmosphere of the star orbiting a probable black hole in the binary system GRO J1655-40 (also known as Nova Scorpii 1994). These α-elements are six to ten times more abundant in the star's atmosphere than they are in the Sun's. We interpret these high abundances as evidence for supernova ejecta captured by the companion star. The relative abundances of these elements suggest that the supernova progenitor was in the mass range 25–40 solar masses.

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Figure 1: Spectral analysis of the secondary star in GRO J1655-40.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Y. Pavlenko for providing model atmospheres with α-element enhancement and H. Socas for helping with non-LTE computations of the O I triplet. The data presented here were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and NASA. The Observatory was made possible by the financial support of the W. M. Keck foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, La Laguna, E-38200, Tenerife, Spain

    G. Israelian, R. Rebolo, J. Casares & E. L. Martín

  2. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain

    R. Rebolo

  3. Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    G. Basri & E. L. Martín

Authors
  1. G. Israelian
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  2. R. Rebolo
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  4. J. Casares
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  5. E. L. Martín
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Correspondence to R. Rebolo.

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Israelian, G., Rebolo, R., Basri, G. et al. Evidence of a supernova origin for the black hole in the system GRO J1655 - 40. Nature 401, 142–144 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/43625

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