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Extreme 8.5-minute orbit reveals white dwarf being torn apart by its binary companion

Phys · · 747 words · By Sam Jarman
Astrophysics Gravitational Wave Detection Scientific Discovery

Astronomers led by Emma Chickles at MIT have observed a binary system of white dwarfs, ATLAS J1013−4516, with an orbital period of 8.5 minutes. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, details how one star is transferring mass to the other, providing a potential target for the future LISA gravitational wave detector.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-extreme-minute-orbit-reveals-white.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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info Single Source 2
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“A team of U.S. astronomers has observed a binary pair of white dwarfs where one star is actively devouring material from the other.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results discuss binary white dwarf systems and mass transfer. Specifically, the arXiv and Library Feeds results for the paper by Emma Chickles describe an '8.56 minute orbital period mass-transferring binary', which confirms the observation of a binary pair of white dwarfs where one is devouring material from the other.
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web search NEUTRAL — Astronomers Confirm the Premature Death of Star. A team of Brazilian astronomers found a unique binary system consisting of a low-mass white dwarf and a brown dwarf. The white dwarf’s existence was cu…
https://scitechdaily.com/astronomers-observe-rare-low-mass-w…
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web search NEUTRAL — An international team of astronomers has utilized the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to investigate a binary system designated ZTF J0007+4804.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-outbursting-hot-subdwarf-binar…
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web search NEUTRAL — Astronomers know of just four other binary systems with orbits under 15 minutes, and all of those systems are transferring mass from one star to the other, which complicates observations of orbital de…
https://news.utexas.edu/2012/08/28/astronomers-test-einstein…
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“Led by Emma Chickles at MIT, the researchers revealed one of the clearest views yet of how ultracompact white dwarf binaries exchange mass at extreme orbital periods”
CORROBORATED
The evidence from arXiv and Library Feeds explicitly names Emma T. Chickles and her research on an eclipsing 8.56-minute orbital period mass-transferring binary, which fits the description of ultracompact white dwarf binaries with extreme orbital periods.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 28, 2026 ... We constrain the accretor and donor mass based on stable mass-transfer arguments assuming angular momentum loss dominated by gravitational wave ...
https://arxiv.org/html/2601.07925v4
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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 12, 2026 ... AM CVns are valuable laboratories for studying the stability of mass transfer, angular-momentum loss through gravitational radiation, and the ...
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.07925
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web search NEUTRAL — Chickles, Emma T.; Chakraborty, Joheen; et al. (2026) An Eclipsing 8.56 Minutes Orbital Period Mass-transferring Binary; Astrophysical Journal; Vol. 1000 ...
https://feeds.library.caltech.edu/groups/Astronomy-Departmen…
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“The research has been published in The Astrophysical Journal.”
CORROBORATED
The Library Feeds result explicitly lists the publication as 'Astrophysical Journal; Vol. 1000' for the paper by Chickles et al. (2026).
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“Named ATLAS J1013−4516, this system contains a binary pair of white dwarfs that orbit around one another in just over 8.5 minutes.”
CORROBORATED
While the specific name 'ATLAS J1013-4516' is not explicitly in the snippets, the arXiv and Library Feeds results confirm the existence of the specific binary system with an orbital period of 8.56 minutes, which matches the 'just over 8.5 minutes' claim.
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“it siphons material from a binary companion with an interior density some 250 higher than lead”
SINGLE SOURCE
No evidence in the provided search results mentions the specific interior density of the companion star relative to lead.
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“transfers it onto the forming a compact, superheated accretion disk with a comparable size to Saturn, and heated to temperatures far above those found on the surface of the sun.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for claim 5 consists of general definitions of mass and unrelated YouTube/government links. There is no specific evidence regarding the accretion disk size or temperature for the ATLAS system.
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web search NEUTRAL — Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. In modern physics, it is generally defined as the strength of an object's gravitational attraction to other bodies - as measured by an observer moving along at…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents Daily TV Mass and the Daily TV Rosary from the Ignatius Chapel, Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre in Pickering, Ontario Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi6JtCVy4XKu4BSG-AE2chg
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web search NEUTRAL — Mass.gov® is a registered service mark of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
https://www.mass.gov/
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“LISA—the upcoming space-based counterpart to the LIGO interferometer”
CORROBORATED
Web search results from NASA/ESA and physics papers confirm that LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a space-based gravitational wave detector designed to complement ground-based detectors like LIGO.
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web search NEUTRAL — 106M Followers, 0 Following, 1,220 Posts - LISA (@lalalalisa_m) on Instagram: ""
https://www.instagram.com/lalalalisa_m/
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 23, 2021 · #LISA #리사 #BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #FIRSTSINGLEALBUM #LALISA #MONEY #EXCLUSIVE_PERFORMANCE_VIDEO #YG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNCWe_6HAM8
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web search NEUTRAL — She rose to prominence as a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, which debuted under YG Entertainment in August 2016 and became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_(rapper)
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“Due for launch in the 2030s, LISA will be able to detect gravitational waves in unprecedented detail”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm LISA is scheduled for launch in the 2030s (one source specifically mentions 2034).
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web search NEUTRAL — In the 2030s, Nasa and the European Space Agency (Esa) will launch the ambitious Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (Lisa), which comprises three satellites flying in a triangle with sides 2.5 million…
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210820-where-did-superm…
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web search NEUTRAL — The space-based observatory LISA [24], scheduled for launch in 2034, will extend these observations to the low-frequency window. As existing ground-based detectors are improved, new ones are built and…
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2010.09010
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web search NEUTRAL — ##*Business Inquiries* For collaborations or Promotion reach out at: khangodofwar96@gmail.com ## FIXED: Schedule 1 Steam Not Found Error | Working ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKiavPvT6_A
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“Emma T. Chickles et al, An Eclipsing 8.56 Minutes Orbital Period Mass-transferring Binary, The Astrophysical Journal (2026). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae4871”
CORROBORATED
The Library Feeds and arXiv results confirm the paper 'An Eclipsing 8.56 Minutes Orbital Period Mass-transferring Binary' by Emma T. Chickles et al., published in The Astrophysical Journal in 2026.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.