HD 213258: A new rapidly oscillating, super slowly rotating, strongly magnetic Ap star in a spectroscopic binary

¹ European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile
e-mail: gmathys@eso.org
² Département de Physique et d’Astronomie, Université de Moncton, Moncton, E1A 3E9 NB, Canada
³ Institut de Physique, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland

Received: 28 November 2022
Accepted: 21 December 2022

Abstract

We report on HD 213258, an Ap star that we recently identified as presenting a unique combination of rare, remarkable properties. Our study of this star is based on ESPaDOnS Stokes I and V data obtained at seven epochs spanning a time interval slightly shorter than 2 yr, on TESS data, and on radial velocity measurements from the CORAVEL data base. We confirm that HD 213258, which was originally suspected to be an F str λ 4077 star, is definitely an Ap star. We found that, in its spectrum, the Fe IIλ 6149.2 Å line is resolved into its two magnetically split components. The mean magnetic field modulus of HD 213258, ⟨B⟩∼3.8 kG, which we determined from this splitting, does not show significant variations over ∼2 yr. Comparing our mean longitudinal field determinations with a couple of measurements from the literature, we show that the stellar rotation period is likely of the order of 50 yr, with a reversal of the field polarity. Moreover, HD 213258 is a rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) star, in which high overtone pulsations with a period of 7.58 min are detected. Finally, we confirm that HD 213258 has a mean radial velocity exceeding (in absolute value) that of at least 99% of Ap stars. The radial velocity shows low amplitude variations, which suggests that the star is a single-line spectroscopic binary. It is also a known astrometric binary. While its orbital elements remain to be determined, its orbital period is likely one of the shortest known for a binary roAp star. Its secondary is close to the borderline between stellar and substellar objects. There is a significant probability that it is a brown dwarf. The pair represents a combination that has never been observed before. Most of the above-mentioned properties taken in isolation are only observed in a small fraction of the whole population of Ap stars. Thus, the probability that a single star possesses all of them is extremely low. This makes HD 213258 an exceptionally interesting object that deserves to be studied in detail in the future.