Infrared outbursts as potential tracers of common envelope events in high-mass X-ray binary formation

Understand

Classic massive binary evolutionary scenarios predict that a transitional common-envelope (CE) phase could be preceded as well as succeeded by the evolutionary stage when a binary consists of a compact object and a massive star, that is, a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB).

• The observational manifestations of common envelope are poorly constrained.
• We speculate that its ejection might be observed in some cases as a transient event at mid-infrared (IR) wavelengths.
• We estimate the expected numbers of CE ejection events and HMXBs per star formation unit rate, and compare these theoretical estimates with observations.