Context. The intriguing binary LS V +22 25 (LB-1) has drawn much attention following claims of it being a single-lined spectroscopic binary with a 79-day orbit comprising a B-type star and a ≈70 M⊙ black hole – the most massive stellar black hole reported to date. Subsequent studies demonstrated a lack of evidence for a companion of such great mass. Recent analyses have implied that the primary star is a stripped He-rich star with peculiar sub-solar abundances of heavy elements, such as Mg and Fe. However, the nature of the secondary, which was proposed to be a black hole, a neutron star, or a main sequence star, remains unknown. Aims. Based on 26 newly acquired spectroscopic observations secured with the HERMES and FEROS spectrographs covering the orbit of the system, we perform an orbital analysis and spectral disentangling of LB-1 to elucidate the nature of the system. Methods. To derive the radial velocity semi-amplitude K2 of the secondary and extract the spectra of the two components, we used two independent disentangling methods: the shift-and-add technique and Fourier disentangling with FDBinary. We used atmosphere models to constrain the surface properties and abundances. Results. Our disentangling and spectral analysis shows that LB-1 contains two components of comparable brightness in the optical. The narrow-lined primary, which we estimate to contribute ≈55% in the optical, has spectral properties that suggest that it is a stripped star: it has a small spectroscopic mass (≈1 M⊙) for a B-type star and it is He- and N-rich. Unlike previous reports, the abundances of heavy elements are found to be solar. The “hidden” secondary, which contributes about 45% of the optical flux, is a rapidly rotating (vsini ≈ 300 km s−1) B3 V star with a decretion disk – a Be star. As a result of its rapid rotation and dilution, the photospheric absorption lines of the secondary are not readily apparent in the individual observations. We measure a semi-amplitude for this star of K2 = 11.2 ± 1.0 km s−1 and adopting a mass of M2 = 7 ± 2 M⊙ typical for B3 V stars, we derive an orbital mass for the stripped primary of M1 = 1.5 ± 0.4 M⊙. The orbital inclination of 39 ± 4° implies a near-critical rotation for the Be secondary (veq ≈ 470 km s−1). Conclusions. LB-1 does not contain a compact object. Instead, it is a rare Be binary system consisting of a stripped star (the former mass donor) and a Be star rotating at near its critical velocity (the former mass accretor). This system is a clear example that binary interactions play a decisive role in the production of rapid stellar rotators and Be stars.

Context. HR 6819 was recently proposed to be a triple system consisting of an inner B-type giant plus black hole (BH) binary with an orbital period of 40 d and an outer Be tertiary. This interpretation is mainly based on two inferences: that the emission attributed to the outer Be star is stationary and that the inner star, which is used as mass calibrator for the BH, is a B-type giant. Aims. We re-investigate the properties of HR 6819 to search for a possibly simpler alternative explanation for HR 6819, which does not invoke the presence of a triple system with a BH in the inner binary. Methods. Based on an orbital analysis, the disentangling of the spectra of the two visible components and the atmosphere analysis of the disentangled spectra, we investigate the configuration of the system and the nature of its components. Results. Disentangling implies that the Be component is not a static tertiary, but rather a component of the binary in the 40 d orbit. The inferred radial velocity amplitudes of K1 = 60.4 ± 1.0 km s−1 for the B-type primary and K2 = 4.0 ± 0.8 km s−1 for the Be-type secondary imply an extreme mass ratio of M2/M1 = 15 ± 3. We find that the B-type primary, which we estimate to contribute about 45% to the optical flux, has an effective temperature of Teff = 16 ± 1 kK and a surface gravity of log g = 2.8 ± 0.2 [cgs], while the Be secondary, which contributes about 55% to the optical flux, has Teff = 20 ± 2 kK and log g = 4.0 ± 0.3 [cgs]. We infer spectroscopic masses of 0.4−0.1+0.3and 6−3+5 for the primary and secondary which agree well with the dynamical masses for an inclination of i = 32°. This indicates that the primary might be a stripped star rather than a B-type giant. Evolutionary modelling suggests that a possible progenitor system would be a tight (Pi ≈ 2 d) B+B binary system that experienced conservative mass transfer. While the observed nitrogen enrichment of the primary conforms with the predictions of the evolutionary models, we find no indications for the predicted He enrichment. Conclusions. We suggest that HR 6819 is a binary system consisting of a stripped B-type primary and a rapidly-rotating Be star that formed from a previous mass-transfer event. In the framework of this interpretation, HR 6819 does not contain a BH. Interferometry can distinguish between these two scenarios by providing an independent measurement of the separation between the visible components.

Liu et al. 1 recently reported the detection of a 68 [+11/-13] solar mass (M¤) black hole (BH) paired with an 8.2 [+0.9/-1.2] M¤ B-type sub-giant star in the 78.9-day spectroscopic binary system LB-1. Such a black hole is over twice as massive as any other known stellarmass black hole with non-compact companions 2,3 and its mass approaches those that result from BH-BH coalescences that are detected by gravitational wave interferometers 4 . Its presence in a solar-like metallicity environment challenges conventional theories of massive binary evolution, stellar winds and core-collapse supernovae, so that more exotic scenarios seem to be needed to explain the existence and properties of LB-1 5,6 . Here, we show that the observational diagnostics used to derive the BH mass results from the orbital motion of the Btype star, not that of the BH. As a consequence, no evidence for a massive BH remains in the data, therefore solving the existing tension with formation models of such a massive BH at solar metallicity and with theories of massive star evolution in general.