The 'Giraffe': discovery of a stripped red giant in an interacting binary with an 2 M⊙ lower giant

We report the discovery of a stripped giant + lower giant Algol-type binary, 2M04123153+6738486 (2M0412), identified during a search for non-interacting compact object - star binaries. 2M0412 is an evolved (T_{eff, giant} ≃ 4000 K), luminous (L_giant ≃ 150 L_⊙) red giant in a circular P = 81.2 d binary. 2M0412 is a known variable star previously classified as a semiregular variable. The cross-correlation functions of follow-up Keck/HIRES and LBT/Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument (PEPSI) spectra show an radial velocity variable second component with implied mass ratio q = M_giant/M_comp ≃ 0.20 ± 0.01. The All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN), Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), Transiting Exoplanet Survey Telescope ( TESS), and Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) light curves show that the giant is a Roche lobe filling ellipsoidal variable with an inclination of 49.4 ± 0.3°, and a giant mass of M_giant = 0.38 ± 0.01 M_⊙ for a distance of ≃ 3.7 kpc. The mass of the giant indicates that its envelope has been partially stripped. The giant companion on the lower red giant branch has a mass of M_comp = 1.91 ± 0.03 M_⊙ with T_{eff, comp} ≃ 5000 K, L_comp ≃ 60 L_⊙, and R_comp ≃ 11 R_⊙. The lower giant contributes ${\sim }35{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the flux in the V band. We also identify an orbital phase dependent, broad $\rm H\,\alpha$ emission line which could indicate ongoing accretion from the stripped red giant on to the companion.