2004/01/19 by J. D. Monnier, John D. Monnier, W. A. Traub +45 · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Aperture (computer memory) #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Binary number #Binary star #Brightness #Galaxy #Interferometry #Optics #Orbit (dynamics) #Physics #Position angle #Star (game theory) #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Telescope #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/382213
published as Astrophys.J. 602 (2004) L57-L60 · To appear in ApJ Letters (13 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures)
arxiv created 2004/01/19 · openalex publication_date 2004/01/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We report the first spatially resolved observations of the spectroscopic binaries λ Vir and WR 140, including the debut of aperture-synthesis imaging with the upgraded three-telescope IOTA interferometer. Using IONIC-3, a new integrated optics beam combiner capable of a precise closure phase measurement, short observations were sufficient to extract the angular separation and orientation of each binary system and the component brightness ratio. Most notably, the underlying binary in the prototypical colliding-wind source WR 140 (WC7 + O4/O5) was found to have a separation of ~13 mas with a position angle of 152°, consistent with previous interpretations of the 2001 dust shell ejection only if the Wolf-Rayet star is fainter than the O star at 1.65 μm. We also highlight λ Vir, whose peculiar stellar properties of the Am star components will permit direct testing of current theories of tidal evolution when the full orbit is determined.