Bibcode
Oey, M. S.; Dorigo Jones, J.; Castro, N.; Zivick, P.; Besla, G.; Januszewski, H. C.; Moe, M.; Kallivayalil, N.; Lennon, D. J.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 867, Issue 1, article id. L8, 7 pp. (2018).
Advertised on:
11
2018
Citations
31
Refereed citations
27
Description
We use Gaia Data Release 2 proper motions of field OB stars from the
Runaways and Isolated O-Type Star Spectroscopic Survey of the Small
Magellanic Cloud (SMC) to study the kinematics of runaway stars. The
data reveal that the SMC Wing has a systemic peculiar motion relative to
the SMC Bar of ({v}α ,{v}δ ) =(62+/-
7,-18+/- 5) {km} {{{s}}}-1 and relative radial velocity
+4.5+/- 5.0 {km} {{{s}}}-1. This unambiguously demonstrates
that these two regions are kinematically distinct: the Wing is moving
away from the Bar, and towards the Large Magellanic Cloud with a 3D
velocity of 64+/- 10 {km} {{{s}}}-1. This is consistent with
models for a recent, direct collision between the Clouds. We present
transverse velocity distributions for our field OB stars, confirming
that unbound runaways comprise on the order of half our sample, possibly
more. Using eclipsing binaries and double-lined spectroscopic binaries
as tracers of dynamically ejected runaways, and high-mass X-ray binaries
(HMXBs) as tracers of runaways accelerated by supernova kicks, we find
significant contributions from both populations. The data suggest that
HMXBs have lower velocity dispersion relative to dynamically ejected
binaries, consistent with the former group corresponding to less
energetic supernova kicks that failed to unbind the components. Evidence
suggests that our fast runaways are dominated by dynamical, rather than
supernova, ejections.