---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '21714'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Be stars are rapidly rotating main-sequence stars that play a crucial role
    in understanding stellar evolution and binary interactions. In this Letter, we
    propose a new formation scenario for black hole (BH) + Be star binaries (hereafter
    BHBe binaries), where the Be star is produced through the wind Roche lobe overflow
    (WRLOF) mechanism. Our analysis is based on numerical simulations of the WRLOF
    process in massive binaries, building on recent theoretical work. We demonstrate
    that the WRLOF model can efficiently form BHBe binaries under reasonable assumptions
    on stellar wind velocities. Using rapid binary population synthesis, we estimate
    the population of such systems in the Milky Way, predicting ∼1800−3200 currently
    existing BHBe binaries originating from the WRLOF channel. These systems are characterized
    by high eccentricities and exceptionally wide orbits, with typical orbital periods
    exceeding 1000 days and a peak distribution around ∼10,000 days. Due to their
    long orbital separations, these BHBe binaries are promising targets for future
    detection via astrometric and interferometric observations.
acknowledgement: We are deeply grateful to the anonymous referee for the insightful
  comments, which have significantly improved the quality of this work. The authors
  express their gratitude to Zhaoyu Zuo and I. El Mellah for sharing the grids of
  wind accretion efficiencies. Z.L. thanks Matthias U. Kruckow for detailed discussions
  about the BH formation. This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation
  of China (grant Nos. 12125303, 12525304, 12288102, 12090040/3, 12473034, 12503044,
  12333008, 12433009, 12422305, 12273105, 12073070, 12173081), the Strategic Priority
  Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant Nos. XDB1160303, XDB1160201,
  XDB1160000), the National Key R&D Program of China (grant Nos. 2021YFA1600403 and
  2021YFA1600400), the CAS “Light of West China,” the Yunnan Revitalization Talent
  Support Program-Science & Technology Champion Project (No. 202305AB350003) and Young
  Talent project, the International Centre of Supernovae (ICESUN), Yunnan Key Laboratory
  of Supernova Research (Nos. 202302AN360001 and 202201BC070003), Yunnan Fundamental
  Research Projects (No. 202401AT070139), and the Natural Science Foundation of Henan
  Province (No. 242300420944). X.C. acknowledges the New Cornerstone Science Foundation
  through the XPLORER PRIZE. The authors gratefully acknowledge the “PHOENIX Supercomputing
  Platform” jointly operated by the Binary Population Synthesis Group and the Stellar
  Astrophysics Group at Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
article_number: L42
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Zhenwei
  full_name: Li, Zhenwei
  last_name: Li
- first_name: Shi
  full_name: Jia, Shi
  last_name: Jia
- first_name: Dandan
  full_name: Wei, Dandan
  id: 5dd129bd-0601-11ef-b325-833284687b76
  last_name: Wei
- first_name: Hongwei
  full_name: Ge, Hongwei
  last_name: Ge
- first_name: Hailiang
  full_name: Chen, Hailiang
  last_name: Chen
- first_name: Yangyang
  full_name: Zhang, Yangyang
  last_name: Zhang
- first_name: Xuefei
  full_name: Chen, Xuefei
  last_name: Chen
- first_name: Zhanwen
  full_name: Han, Zhanwen
  last_name: Han
citation:
  ama: 'Li Z, Jia S, Wei D, et al. Formation of Be stars via wind accretion: Case
    study on Black Hole + Be star binaries. <i>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</i>.
    2026;996(2). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008">10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008</a>'
  apa: 'Li, Z., Jia, S., Wei, D., Ge, H., Chen, H., Zhang, Y., … Han, Z. (2026). Formation
    of Be stars via wind accretion: Case study on Black Hole + Be star binaries. <i>The
    Astrophysical Journal Letters</i>. IOP Publishing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008">https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008</a>'
  chicago: 'Li, Zhenwei, Shi Jia, Dandan Wei, Hongwei Ge, Hailiang Chen, Yangyang
    Zhang, Xuefei Chen, and Zhanwen Han. “Formation of Be Stars via Wind Accretion:
    Case Study on Black Hole + Be Star Binaries.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</i>.
    IOP Publishing, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008">https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008</a>.'
  ieee: 'Z. Li <i>et al.</i>, “Formation of Be stars via wind accretion: Case study
    on Black Hole + Be star binaries,” <i>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</i>, vol.
    996, no. 2. IOP Publishing, 2026.'
  ista: 'Li Z, Jia S, Wei D, Ge H, Chen H, Zhang Y, Chen X, Han Z. 2026. Formation
    of Be stars via wind accretion: Case study on Black Hole + Be star binaries. The
    Astrophysical Journal Letters. 996(2), L42.'
  mla: 'Li, Zhenwei, et al. “Formation of Be Stars via Wind Accretion: Case Study
    on Black Hole + Be Star Binaries.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</i>, vol.
    996, no. 2, L42, IOP Publishing, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008">10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008</a>.'
  short: Z. Li, S. Jia, D. Wei, H. Ge, H. Chen, Y. Zhang, X. Chen, Z. Han, The Astrophysical
    Journal Letters 996 (2026).
date_created: 2026-04-12T22:01:50Z
date_published: 2026-01-10T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-16T06:26:18Z
day: '10'
ddc:
- '520'
department:
- _id: YlGo
doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae3008
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2512.18565'
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has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '       996'
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language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '01'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2041-8213
  issn:
  - 2041-8205
publication_status: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Formation of Be stars via wind accretion: Case study on Black Hole + Be star
  binaries'
tmp:
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...
