1998/08/01 by A. Bruch, Marcos P. Diaz · 3 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Particle accelerators and beam dynamics #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
paper · doi:10.1086/300471
openalex publication_date 1998/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Photometric and some spectroscopic observations of the white dwarf–red dwarf binary RR Cae ( V = 14.36 mag) are presented. The light curve confirms an earlier report of deep eclipses. An orbital period of 0.303695 days is derived. Small out-of-eclipse variations—at least partly explicable as the result of reflection and tidal distortion—and a weak secondary eclipse are also detected. The phase of the latter suggests an eccentric orbit that, however, has yet to be confirmed. The Hα absorption line of the white dwarf contains a narrow emission core. Otherwise, the red spectrum is dominated by absorption structures of a very late (∼M6) main-sequence star. Eclipse simulations permit a unique solution for the orbital inclination and the component radii in units of their separation. This, in turn, leads to a self-consistent solution for the absolute values of numerous system parameters, the most important of which are the masses estimated by using theoretical and empirical mass-radius relationships ( M 1 = 0.365 M ⊙ ; M 2 = 0.089 M ⊙ ). A photometric parallax of 12 pc is derived. The future evolution of this precataclysmic binary is briefly discussed.