RADIAL VELOCITY CONFIRMATION OF A BINARY DETECTED FROM PULSE TIMINGS

Journal Article · Wed Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/737/1/L2· OSTI ID:21562496

Barlow, B N; Dunlap, B H

A periodic variation in the pulse timings of the pulsating hot subdwarf B (sdB) star CS 1246 was recently discovered via the observed minus calculated (O-C) diagram and suggests the presence of a binary companion with an orbital period of two weeks. Fits to this phase variation, when interpreted as orbital reflex motion, imply CS 1246 orbits a barycenter 11 lt-s away with a velocity of 16.6 km s{sup -1}. Using the Goodman spectrograph on the SOAR telescope, we decided to confirm this hypothesis by obtaining radial velocity measurements of the system over several months. Our spectra reveal a velocity variation with amplitude, period, and phase in accordance with the O-C diagram predictions. This corroboration demonstrates that the rapid pulsations of hot sdB stars can be adequate clocks for the discovery of binary companions via the pulse timing method.

• OSTI ID: 21562496
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 737, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/737/1/L2; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BINARY STARS
PERIODICITY
PULSATIONS
RADIAL VELOCITY
STARS
VARIATIONS
VELOCITY