Search for dormant black holes in the OGLE data (2401.11293v2)

Abstract: Light curves of ellipsoidal variables collected by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) were analyzed, in order to search for dormant black hole candidates. After the preselection based on the amplitude of ellipsoidal modulation, each object was investigated by means of the spectral energy distribution fit, which allowed us to select objects that are in close agreement with the spectrum of a single stellar object. After this final step of the preselection process, we were left with only fourteen objects that were then investigated in detail. For each candidate, we estimated basic physical parameters such as temperature, mass, luminosity, and, in some cases, radial velocity semi-amplitude. One of the objects turned out to be a spotted star while the rest are considered black-hole binary candidates. In the end, we present an alternative explanation for the ellipsoidal modulation in the form of contact binaries, which are not only vast in number, contrary to black-hole binaries, but are also in much better agreement with the radial velocity estimates for some of the systems analyzed. Even if the presented arguments suggest a noncompact character of the companion objects, each of them should be observed spectroscopically in order to verify the compact object hypothesis.