EC 19529-4430: SALT identifies the most carbon- and metal-poor extreme helium star

EC 19529-4430 was identified as a helium-rich star in the Edinburgh-Cape Survey of faint-blue objects and subsequently resolved as a metal-poor extreme helium (EHe) star in the SALT survey of chemically-peculiar hot subdwarfs. This paper presents a fine analysis of the SALT high-resolution spectrum. EC 19529-4430 has Teff = 20\,700 ±250\,K, log g / cm\,s⁻² = 3.49±0.03, and an overall metallicity some 1.3 dex below solar; surface hydrogen is ≈ 0.5% by number. The surface CNO ratio 1:100:8 implies that the surface consists principally of CNO-processed helium and makes EC 19529-4430 the coolest known carbon-poor and nitrogen-rich EHe star. Metal-rich analogues include V652 Her and GALEX J184559.8-413827. Kinematically, its retrograde orbit indicates membership of the galactic halo. No pulsations were detected in TESS photometry and there is no evidence for a binary companion. EC 19529-4430 most likely formed from the merging of two helium white dwarfs, which themselves formed as a binary system some 11 Gyr ago.