The discovery was made by a collaborative team of scientists from Gauhati University, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), and Italy’s INAF-Catania Astrophysical Observatory.
Astronomers said the newly identified system is particularly remarkable because it exists within the so-called “brown dwarf desert” — a region where brown dwarf companions are rarely found around stars. The brown dwarf companion in this system possesses only about 5.6 per cent of the Sun’s mass, making it the lightest companion ever detected around a blue straggler star.
Blue straggler stars have long intrigued scientists because they appear hotter, brighter and younger than neighbouring stars within the same stellar cluster. The latest findings provide fresh evidence that such stars may form through complex interactions involving multiple-star systems, mergers and orbital evolution.
Researchers noted that the ultra-compact binary system offers a unique laboratory for studying stellar evolution, mass transfer processes and the formation of compact stellar objects. The discovery is also expected to deepen scientific understanding of how rare brown dwarf companions survive in extremely tight orbits.
The findings have been published in the internationally reputed journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. Scientists believe the discovery could pave the way for further investigations into exotic stellar systems within the Milky Way galaxy.
