Orbital parameters for an ELM white dwarf with a white dwarf companion: LAMOST J033847.06+413424.2

Abstract: Double white dwarf systems are of great astrophysical importance in the field of gravitational wave and Type Ia supernova. While the binary fraction of CO core white dwarf is about a few percents, the extremely low mass white dwarfs are all thought to be within binary systems. In this work, we report the orbital solution of a double degenerate system: J033847.06+413424.24, an extremely low mass He core white dwarf orbiting a CO core white dwarf. With LAMOST and P200, time domain spectroscopic observations have been made and spectral atmosphere parameters are estimated to be $T_{\rm eff}\sim22500$ K and log $g\sim5.6$ dex. Combining Gaia parallax, 3D extinction, and evolution tracks, we estimate a radius of $\sim0.12$ $R_{\odot}$ and a mass of $\sim0.22$ $M_{\odot}$. With the 37 single exposure spectra, the radial velocities are measured and the orbital parameters are estimated to be $P=0.1253132(1)$ days, $K1=289\pm4$ km/s and $V_{sys}=-41\pm3$ km/s. The radial velocity based system ephemeris is also provided. The light curves from several photometric surveys show no orbital modulation. The orbital solution suggests that the invisible companion has a minimum mass of about 0.60 $M_{\odot}$ and is $\sim0.79$ $M_{\odot}$ for an inclination of $60.0^{\circ}$, indicating most probably a CO core white dwarf. The system is expected to merge in about 1 Gyr. With present period and distance ($\sim596$ pc) it can not irradiate strong enough gravitational wave for LISA. More double degenerate systems are expected to be discovered and parameterized as the LAMOST survey goes on.