# Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. II

## 1 INTRODUCTION

This paper is a continuation of the radial velocity studies of close binary stars started by Lu & Rucinski (1999 = Paper I). The main motivation of this program have been determination of mean ($`\gamma `$) velocities for Hipparcos stars in order to determine spatial velocity vectors, with an important by-product of preliminary values of mass-ratio from simple sine-curve fits to the data. The program was started with contact binaries, mostly because of the evidence of their very high spatial frequency of occurrence relative to F–K dwarfs at the level of 1/100 – 1/80 (Rucinski 1998), but is slowly expanding to include other close binary systems accessible to the 1.8 meter class telescopes at medium spectral resolution of about R = 10,000 – 15,000.

The paper is structured in the same way as Paper I in that it consists of two tables containing the radial velocity measurements (Table 3) and their sine-curve solutions (Table 3) and of brief summaries of previous studies for individual systems. The reader is referred to Paper I for technical details of the program. In short, all observations described here were made with the 1.88 meter telescope of the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) of the University of Toronto. The Cassegrain spectrograph giving the scale of 0.2 Å/pixel, or about 12 km/s/pixel, was used; the pixel size of the CCD was 19 $`\mu `$m. A relatively wide spectrograph slit of 300 $`\mu `$m corresponded to the angular size on the sky of 1.8 arcsec and the projected width of 4 pixels. The spectra were centered at 5185 Å with the spectral coverage of 210 Å. The exposure times were typically 10 minutes long, with the longest exposures for fainter systems not exceeding 15 minutes.

The data in Table 3 are organized the same was as in Paper I. Table 3 is slightly different from that in Paper I as it now provides information about relation between the specroscopically observed epoch of the primary-eclipse T<sub>0</sub> and the recent photometric determinations in the form of the (O–C) deviations for the number of elapsed periods E. It also contains, in the first column, below the star name, our new spectral classifications of the program objects. The classification spectra, typically two per object, were obtained using the same spectrograph, but with a different grating giving the dispersion of 0.62 Å/pixel in the range 3850 – 4450 Å. Several spectral-classification standards were observed and then the program-star spectra were “interpolated” between them in terms of relative strenghts of lines known as reliable classification criteria.

In the radial-velocity solutions of the orbits, the data have been assigned weights on the basis of our ability to resolve the components and to fit independent Gaussians to each of the broadening-function peak. Weight equal to zero in Table 3 means that an observation was not used in our orbital solutions; however, these observations may be utilized in detailed modeling of broadening functions, if such are undertaken for the available material. The full-weight points are marked in the figures by filled symbols while half-weight ones are marked by open symbols. Phases of the observations with zero weights are shown by short markers in the lower parts of the figures; they were usually obtained close to the phases of orbital conjunctions.

Because our data had been collected usually within one or two consecutive observing seasons, the orbital solutions were done by fixing the values of the orbital period. The solutions for the four circular-orbit parameters, $`\gamma `$, K<sub>1</sub>, K<sub>2</sub> and T<sub>0</sub>, were obtained in the following way: First, two independent least-squares solutions for each star were made using the same programs as described in Paper I. They provided preliminary values of the amplitude, $`K_i`$, of the mean velocity $`\gamma `$s and the initial (primary eclipse) epoch $`T_0`$. Then, one combined solution for both amplitudes and the common $`\gamma `$ was made with the fixed mean value of T<sub>0</sub>. Next, differential corrections the K<sub>1</sub>, K<sub>2</sub>, and T<sub>0</sub> were determined, providing best values of the four parameters. These values are given in Table 3. The corrections to $`\gamma `$, K<sub>1</sub>, K<sub>2</sub>, and T<sub>0</sub> were finally subject to a “bootstrap” process (several thousand solutions with randomly drawn data with repetitions) to provide the median values and ranges of the parameters. As is common in the application of this method, the bootstrap one-sigma ranges were found to be systematically larger than the differential-correction, linear least-squares estimates so that we have adopted them as measures of uncertainty of parameters in Table 3.

Throughout the paper, when the errors are not written otherwise, we use notation of the standard mean errors in terms of the last quoted digits, e.g. the number 0.349(29) should be interpreted as $`0.349\pm 0.029`$.

## 2 RESULTS FOR INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS

### 2.1 AH Aur

The binary has been discovered by Tsesevich (1954) and early light curves were published by Hinderer (1960). The system was never observed for a study of radial velocity variations; even photometrically, it is one of the least observed contact binaries. It shows a light curve with amplitude slightly larger than 0.5 mag and with indications of partial eclipses. Although it was included in the Hipparcos observing list, it has not been included in the analysis by Rucinski & Duerbeck (1997 = RD97) because the large error in its parallax resulting in the absolute-magnitude error of 0.72 mag. The $`(BV)`$ color from the Tycho experiment 0.55(8) suggested a spectral type late F – early G, which is in excellent agreement with our spectral type F7V; this is also consistent with the absolute-magnitude calibration $`M_V=M_V(\mathrm{log}P,BV)`$ of RD97 which givs $`M_V=3.1`$.

The most recent available photometric timing of the primary eclipse was that by Agerer & Hubscher (1996); this timing was used as the first guess for our radial-velocity solution. In our orbital solution, we assumed the orbital period following the 1985 edition of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, $`P=0.4942624`$ days. The $`(OC)`$ deviation for the primary eclipse epoch T<sub>0</sub> is relatively large and equals 0.0206 days which is much larger than the error of determination of T<sub>0</sub>. This shift may be partly due to an obvious asymmetry in the radial-velocity curve of the less-massive component in the first half of the orbital cycle (see Figure 3). If we fix the T<sub>0</sub> at the epoch given by Agerer & Hubscher (1996), the asymmetry remains and the fit is only slightly modified. The values of the orbital parameters are then: ($`\gamma `$, K<sub>1</sub>, K<sub>2</sub>) = (30.96, 47.36, 279.68) km/s. The mass-ratio remains then at a relatively low value of $`q=0.17`$, but values of velocity amplitudes which determine the masses are slightly changed. The system needs a modern photometric study.

### 2.2 CK Boo

Bond (1975) noted diffuse spectral lines and then obtained a fragmentary light curve indicating that the star is a W UMa-type binary. Since then, the binary has been subject of several time-of-minima studies, the most recent one by Muyesseroglu, Gurol & Selam (1996). We have taken the value of the period, $`P=0.3551501`$, from the study of Aslan & Derman (1986).

The light curves of the system were presented by Krzesinski, Mikolajewski, Pajdosz & Zola (1991) and Jia, Liu & Huang (1992). The light curves are relatively shallow indicating partial eclipses and, consequently, difficulties with light-curve-synthesis solutions. Krzesinski et al. attempted a solution which included a determination of the photometric mass ratio. They derived $`q_{ph}=0.52`$ or 0.59 (depending on the assumptions concerning spots) and found that the system is of the W-type, i.e. with the primary, deeper minimum corresponding to eclipses of the smaller, less massive star in the system. The system was included in the Hipparcos study (RD97) with a relatively poor determination of the absolute magnitude, $`M_V=2.99(44)`$, which is however consistent with $`(BV)_0=0.54`$ and a spectral type of F6V as estimated by Krzesinski et al. (1991). Our estimate of the spectral type is slightly later, F7/8V.

The only radial velocity study that we are aware of is by Hrivnak (1993). His preliminary spectroscopic determination of the mass-ratio, $`q_{sp}=0.16`$, was entirely different from the photometric solution of Krzesinski et al. (1991). Also, the type of the system was found to be A, not W; i.e. it is the more massive star which is eclipsed at deeper minimum. Our data fully confirm that the system is of the A-type, but our mass-ratio is even smaller than that of Hrivnak, $`q_{sp}=0.11`$, although the error of the spectroscopic determination is relatively large for such small values of $`q`$.

### 2.3 DK Cyg

This contact system has not been studied spectroscopically yet, although it has been a subject of numerous photometric investigations since the discovery by Guthnick & Prager (1927). The most recent photometry and light curve have been given by Awadalla (1994); this study suggested a systematic period change. We adopted $`P=0.470691`$ days for our data, a number which is based on the values given by Awadalla 1994) and Binnendijk (1964).

Because of the total eclipses at shallower minimum (a clear A-type), Mochnacki & Doughty (1972) recognized that the system would be convenient one for their (one of the first) contact-model light-curve-synthesis solutions; they used the light curve of Binnendijk (1964). Their photometric mass-ratio was $`q_{ph}=0.33\pm 0.02`$. Our entirely independent spectroscopic result of $`q_{sp}=0.32\pm 0.04`$ agrees fully with this determination confirming that systems with total eclipses can give excellent photometric solutions, in contrast to systems with partial eclipses. Mochnacki and Doughty (1972) pointed out that the spectral type of the system, judged by its color, is probably F0–F2. This prediction did not agree with the direct estimate of the spectral type at A6–8V given by Hill, Hilditch, Younger & Fischer (1975). We also estimated the spectral type at A8V. The Stromgren color $`by=0.24`$ (Hilditch & Hill 1975) suggests a spectral type A8 – F0. The Hipparcos parallax is small and has a large error ($`ϵM_V=0.9`$) so that the system was not included in RD97.

The system was included in the list of near-contact binaries of Shaw (1994), but as far as we can establish, it an excellent example of an A-type contact system without any particular complications so there are no reasons to consider it a “near-contact” one.

### 2.4 SV Equ

This relatively long-period system (0.881 days) has been discovered by Catalano & Rodono (1966) and then photometrically studied by Eggen (1978). Because of the color $`by=0.145`$ suggesting a spectral type of A5 and of the shallow (0.15 mag) light curve, Eggen considered the system to be a contact binary of little interest in the context of genuine early-type systems. The system has been somewhat forgotten except for its inclusion among near-contact binaries in the compilation of Shaw (1994). The Hipparcos parallax is poor in this case giving $`M_V=3.7(9)`$.

Recent photometric observations of SV Equ were reported by Cook (1997) who gave the new time-of-minimum prediction with the period $`P=0.88097307`$ days. These observations were obtained very close in time to our observations, but they disagree in the time of minimum T<sub>0</sub>. We do not see any obvious reasons why the $`(OC)`$ for contemporaneous observations should be as large as $`0.028`$ days, but note that the graph of the data in Cook (1997) indicates rather large photometric errors.

In spite of attempts to isolate lines of the secondary component with different template spectra, out spectroscopic observations led to detection of only one component. Thus, the star is not a contact binary (EW) as it was classified before, but most probably a semi-detached system (EB) seen at a low orbital inclination angle.

### 2.5 V842 Her (NSV 7457)

The variability was discovered by Geyer, Kippenhahn & Stroheimer (1965), but the real nature of the star as a contact binary was identified relatively recently by Vandenbroere (1993) and, apparently independently, by Nomen-Torres & Garcia-Moreno (1996). We analyzed all the recent determinations of eclipse timings, as published by Vandenbroere (1993), Diethelm (1994), Nomen-Torres & Garcia-Moreno (1996) and Agerer & Huebscher (1997, 1998a), and found the following ephemeris: JD(Hel) = 2,447,643.1771(29) + 0.41903201(56) E. As for the other systems, only the period was used to determine the phases of the spectroscopic observations.

V842 Her has not been yet observed for radial velocity changes. There exist also no previous estimates of its spectral type or color. It is the only W-type system in the current study; coincidentally, it is also the only system without a Hipparcos parallax measurement in this group of ten contact systems. The orbital period of 0.42 days is somewhat long for a typical W-type system and our spectral classification of F9V is unusually early for a W-type system. The light curve has a moderately large amplitude of about 0.6 mag and the primary (deeper) eclipses appear to be total or very close to total so that the system has a potential of an excellent combined, light and radial-velocity solution.

### 2.6 UZ Leo

Variability of this star was discovered by Kaho (1937), but the correct type was identified much later by Smith (1954). Since then, there have been many photometric studies of the system, but no radial-velocity studies. For guidance on the orbital phases, we used the recent determination of Agerer and Huebscher (1998a). To phase our observations, we used the value of the period from the study of Binnendijk (1972).

The modern light-curve synthesis solutions of Vinko, Hegedues & Hendry (1996) arrived at two similar possible values of the mass-ratio: $`q_{ph}=0.233`$ and 0.227. They differ rather substantially from our spectroscopic value, $`q_{sp}=0.303(24)`$. The system is clearly of the A-type with a large-amplitude light curve and total eclipses offering excellent prospects for a combined radial-velocity/photometric solution. The Hipparcos parallax placed the system slightly outside the $`M_V`$ error threshold of 0.5 mag used in RD97. The resulting relatively faint absolute magnitude of $`M_V=3.75(55)`$ agrees better with the spectral type of F2–3V, implied by $`(BV)=0.373`$, than with the direct estimate of A7V (Vinko et al. 1996). Our estimate of the spectral type is A9/F1V.

### 2.7 XZ Leo

The system was discovered by Hoffmeister (1934). The recent time of minimum has been taken from Agerer & Huebscher (1997) while the period is that determined by Niarchos, Hoffman & Duerbeck (1994).

The system was never observed spectroscopically. Niarchos et al. (1994) made a plausible and apparently correct assumption that the system is of the A-type and attempted to determine the mass-ratio. Their value, $`q_{ph}=0.726`$, is very far from our spectroscopic determination, $`q_{sp}=0.348(29)`$, once again demonstrating the dangers of spectroscopically-unconstrained light-curve solutions for partially eclipsing systems. They attempted to estimate the spectral type and preferred the range A7 to F0 rather than the previous estimates of A5 to A7. The Tycho’s experiment color $`(BV)_T=0.45(7)`$ indicates a mid-F spectral type. Our spectral type is A8/F0V so that the color does not agree with the spectral type.

### 2.8 V839 Oph

Variability of the star was discovered by Rigollet (1947). The system has not been yet observed for radial-velocity variations. The recent timing of the minimum was by Agerer & Huebscher (1998b) while the period used for phasing of our observations was determined by Akalin & Derman (1997).

In spite of partial eclipses and light curve instabilities, the system was subject to many photometric contact-model solutions. The most recent one by Akalin & Derman (1997) arrived at the photometric mass-ratio of $`q_{ph}=0.40`$. This substantially differs from our spectroscopic determination of $`q_{sp}=0.305(24)`$. The system is of the A-type.

V839 Oph was included in the study of the Hipparcos data (RD97) with a moderately accurate determination of $`M_V=3.08(38)`$. This absolute magnitude is consistent with the Tycho color $`(BV)_T=0.62`$, with $`(by)=0.41`$ (Hilditch & Hill 1975) and the spectral type of F8V (Akalin & Derman 1997) under an assumption that the reddening is relatively large, $`E_{BV}=0.09`$ (RD97). Our spectral type is F7V.

### 2.9 GR Vir

Strohmeier, Knigge & Ott (1965) noticed light variations of the star, but an independent discovery of Harris (1979) led to its identification as a close binary system. The assumed period as well as the recent timing of the eclipse come from the photometric study of Cereda, Misto, Niarchos & Poretti (1988). Since the system was not recently observed, the accumulated uncertainty in the period as well as a likely change in its length since the observations of Cereda et al. have led to a large difference between the spectroscopic and predicted values of T<sub>0</sub> of 0.2208 days. We handled the implied problem of relating our radial-velocity to the photometric data of Cereda et al. by assuming that the system is of the A-type, as indicated by the fact that the secondary (shallower) eclipses are apparently total.

The mass-ratio of the system, $`q=0.12`$, is one of the smallest known for contact systems. Because of the total eclipses and the availability of the spectroscopic mass-ratio, the system is an ideal candidate for a new light-curve synthesis solution.

GR Vir is the third and last system in this series which was included in the Hipparcos analysis (RD97). The absolute magnitude $`M_V=4.17(14)`$ was the best determined among the three determinations. Because of its brightness and the features mentioned above, the system deserves much attention. The colors $`(by)=0.37`$ (Olsen 1983) and $`(BV)=0.55`$ (Cereda et al. 1988) suggest the spectral type F9 – G0. Our spectral classification is F7/8V.

### 2.10 NN Vir (HD 125488)

This is one of the stars whose variability has been detected by the Hipparcos satellite. Gomez-Ferrellad & Garcia-Melendo (1997) correctly identified the type of variability and determined the period and the initial epoch T<sub>0</sub>. The radial velocity variations have been observed by us for the first time. In spite of its large apparent brightness ($`V=7.6`$), it was excluded from the radial-velocity survey of early F-type stars by Nordstroem, Stefanik, Latham & Andersen (1997) because of the strong broadening of the spectral lines indicating rapid rotation and/or close binary character of the star.

NN Vir has a relatively large mass-ratio, $`q_{sp}=0.491(11)`$, which is rather infrequent among the A-type contact systems. The light curve of Gomez-Ferrellad & Garcia-Melendo has a moderately large amplitude so that the system should be subject of a combined radial-velocity/photometric solution.

NN Vir was not included in RD97, but its parallax is moderately large leading to relatively secure determination of the absolute magnitude of $`M_V=2.52(26)`$. The color $`by=0.25`$ (Olsen 1983) suggests the spectral type F3. This is confirmed by our direct classification F0/1V.

## 3 SUMMARY

The paper brings radial velocity data for the second group of ten close binary systems that we observed, this time all observed at David Dunlap Observatory. All but SV Equ, which is probably a short-period semi-detached system, are contact binaries with both components clearly detected. Although we do not give the calculated values of $`(M_1+M_2)\mathrm{sin}^3i=1.0385\times 10^7(K_1+K_2)^3P(\mathrm{day})M_{}`$, we note that for all 9 contact binaries they are relatively large and range between $`1.17M_{}`$ (CK Boo) and $`2.25M_{}`$ (UZ Leo) indicating that the orbital inclination angles for all of them are not far from 90 degrees and that the final, combined solutions of the light and radial-velocity variations should give reliable values of the masses.

Although our observational selection for this group of ten systems had been purely random, we found – after exclusion of SV Equ – that 8 systems among 9 W UMa-type systems are of the A-type; only V842 Her is of the W-type. A combination of factors could lead to this unusual preference over the W-type systems: (1) Although it is generally more difficult to detect low-mass secondaries in A-type systems than in W-type systems because of the more extreme mass-ratios, our instrumental setup is ideal for observations of the type presented here; (2) The A-type systems are, on the average, hotter and brighter so that they would be preferentially selected close to the faint limit of a magnitude-limited survey like ours; (3) It is possible that in cases when spectral lines of secondary components had not been detected during first attempts by previous observers, the A-type systems were preferentially discarded in favor of the W-type systems since the latter would normally give full, two-component orbital solutions.

We point out which systems will be of greatest interests in the individual descriptions, in Section 2. Here we note that three of our systems have very small mass-ratios: 0.11, 0.12 and 0.17 for CK Boo, GR Vir and AH Aur. Small values are common among the A-type systems, but the physical state of such extreme mass-ratio systems remains elusive. We note that the only W-type system, V842 Her has a relatively small (for a W-type system) mass-ratio of 0.26, while NN Vir has a relatively large mass-ratio of 0.49 (for an A-type system).

The research has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at the CDS, Strasbourg, France and accessible through the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, which is operated by the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada.    

Captions to figures: