Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betel-buddy? Constraints on the Dynamical Companion to α Orionis from HST

Recently, two independent analyses have asserted that the cause of the long secondary period (LSP) observed in the variability spectrum of our nearest red supergiant, Betelgeuse (α Ori), is the as yet undetected, low-mass binary companion dubbed α Ori B. In this paper, we present the results of a far-UV (FUV) observational campaign using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph echelle spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope aimed at detecting spectral signatures of the companion. The four-quadrant tiling pattern and timing of the observations were optimized to isolate the companion, with observations taking place during a period of maximum angular and velocity separation between Betelgeuse and the putative companion. Spectral differencing between quadrants recovers no spectral features at the companion's velocity in excess of the background or Betelgeuse's chromosphere, i.e., a nondetection. Having determined that α Ori B is most likely a young stellar object (YSO) thanks to constraints from a complementary X-ray campaign with the Chandra X-ray Observatory in a companion paper, comparison of our data against canonical spectra from YSOs in the ULLYSES database allows us to confidently exclude masses ≳ 1.5 M_⊙ and companion continuum or line emission in excess of ≍10⁻¹⁴ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻² Å⁻¹ in the FUV (≍1200─1700 Å). Future observational campaigns aware of the LSP phase are needed to place deeper constraints on the spectroscopic nature of α Ori B.

Publication:

The Astrophysical Journal

Pub Date:

November 2025

DOI:

10.3847/1538-4357/ae0c0c

10.48550/arXiv.2505.18375

arXiv: