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February 10, 2026

Ultraviolet spectroscopy reveals a hot and luminous companion to the Be star+black hole candidate MWC 656

Johanna Müller-Horn Varsha Ramachandran Kareem El-Badry Andreas A. C. Sander Julia Bodensteiner Douglas R. Gies Y. Götberg Thomas Rivinius Tomer Shenar E. C. Schösser L. Wang Allyson Bieryla Lars A. Buchhave David W. Latham

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Key Points

This research investigates the nature of the companion to the Be star MWC 656, previously thought to be a black hole.
Utilized multi-epoch ultraviolet spectroscopy from the Space Telescope
Incorporated high-resolution optical spectra
Conducted spectral modeling to analyze features in the data
Found high-ionisation spectral features indicative of a hot, luminous companion
Determined companion mass to be 1.48 solar masses, ruling out a black hole
Identified the companion as a hydrogen-deficient intermediate-mass stripped star

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Implication

New analysis finds a luminous companion in MWC 656, suggesting a shift in our understanding of Be star binaries.

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Cite This Study

Müller-Horn et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69ba420a4e9516ffd37a1fb7 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202557960/pdf

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