Lithium as a Signpost for Compact Object Binary Candidates in the LAMOST Medium Resolution Survey

arXiv:2608.03098 · astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.GA · Submitted 2026-08-04 · Read on arXiv

Yang Shen, Joshua D. Simon, Kareem El-Badry, Casey Y. Lam

astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.GA

Submitted: 2026-08-04

Comments: 4 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Research Notes of the AAS

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: Binary systems with black hole or neutron star companions are often associated with lithium enhancement.

Terminology

Abstract

Binary systems with black hole or neutron star companions are often associated with lithium enhancement. Gaia NS1, a recently discovered neutron-star binary with a lithium-enhanced main-sequence companion, demonstrates the potential of lithium as a signpost for identifying compact object binaries in existing spectroscopic surveys. In particular, we aim to use lithium as a signpost to find compact object binaries similar to Gaia NS1 in the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Medium Resolution Survey (MRS). From LAMOST MRS, we selected 4441 metal-poor main-sequence stars like Gaia NS1, measured the Li 6707 equivalent width, and then identified a sample of 33 stars with strong Li absorption. We used radial velocity variation and astrometric binarity signatures from Gaia, narrowing the sample to 3 candidates. We identified one of these candidates as an eclipsing binary and demonstrated that massive companions for the other two are unlikely via follow-up spectroscopy.

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