Pair of white dwarfs locked in 6-minute orbit might one day be observed by gravitational waves

A pair of white dwarfs, known as eRASSU J0608, has been observed to orbit each other with a period of approximately six minutes. This is a rare configuration that could potentially be detected by future gravitational-wave observatories. The system emits regular X-ray bursts due to the close orbital dynamics, where material from one star is directly captured by the other, rather than forming an accretion disk. The orbital decay rate is consistent with the energy loss from gravitational waves, making it one of the strongest gravitational-wave sources for a binary star system.

• The orbital decay rate is faster than previously observed in similar systems.
• The system's estimated chirp mass is 0.43 solar masses.
• The X-ray observations cannot determine the distance to the system.
• The team hopes to discover a third stellar companion to help determine the distance.
• Future gravitational-wave observatories like LISA could detect the system's gravitational waves if it is not too far away.

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