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| Paper: |
Imaging and Modeling of Double Stars with the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer; a Continuation of the Mark III Double-Star Program |
| Volume: |
185, Precise Stellar Radial Velocities, IAU Colloquium 170 |
| Page: |
416 |
| Authors: |
Hummel, C. A. |
| Abstract: |
We present first results from the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI): images and orbital elements of the double star Mizar A, and the orbit of η Pegasi obtained by combining the NPOI data with earlier data from the Mark III Stellar Interferometer. Uncertainties of the orbital inclination are between 0.1 and 0.3 degrees, those of the semi-major axis are less than 0.5 per cent. We determine the component masses and other parameters of the double star system directly through a fit to a combination of interferometric and spectroscopic data. Algorithms were developed to handle any hierarchical stellar system. We describe plans for the study of spectroscopic double stars with NPOI, which draw from our experience with the Mark III binary program. This program yielded orbits of 26 stars, of which 17 were published with mass determinations of 24 components using spectroscopy. The accuracy of the physical parameters was often limited by the spectroscopy. We show that in order to benefit from the high precision of the interferometric observations, new high precision spectroscopic observations, combined with improved algorithms for the detection of the secondaries, are required. |
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