New radial velocity observations of AH Her : Evidence for material outside the tidal radius
Abstract
Spectroscopic observations of AH Herculis during a deep quiescent state are put forward. We found the object in a rare long minima, allowing us to derive accurately the semi-amplitudes: K1 =121 ± 4 km s-1 and K2 = 152 ± 2 km s-1 and its mass functions MWsin 3i = 0.30 ± 0.01 M⊙ and MRsin 3i = 0.24 ± 0.02 M⊙, while its binary separation is given by asin i = 1.39 ± 0.02 R⊙. The orbital period Porb = 0.25812 ± 0.00032 d was found from a power spectrum analysis of the radial velocities of the secondary star. These values are consistent with those determined by Horne, Wade & Szkody. Our observations indicate that K5 is the most likely spectral type of the secondary. We discuss why we favour the assumption that the donor in AH Her is a slightly evolved star, in which case we find that the best solution for the inclination yields i = 48° ± 2°. None the less, should the donor be a ZAMS star, we obtain that the inclination is between i = 43° and i = 44°. We also present Doppler tomography of H α and H β, and found that the emission in both lines is concentrated in a large asymmetric region at low velocities, but at an opposite position to the secondary star, outside the tidal radius and therefore at an unstable position. We also analyse the H α and H β line profiles, which show a single broad peak and compare it with the previous quiescent state study that shows a double-peaked profile, providing evidence for its transient nature.
Citation
Echevarriá , J , Hernández Santisteban , J V , Segura Montero , O , Ramírez , S H , Ruelas-Mayorga , A , Sánchez , L J , Michel , R , Costero , R , González-Buitrago , D H & Olivares , J 2021 , ' New radial velocity observations of AH Her : Evidence for material outside the tidal radius ' , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , vol. 501 , no. 1 , pp. 596-605 . https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3615
Publication
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0035-8711Type
Journal article
Description
The authors acknowledge financial support prom PAPIIT project IN114917. JER acknowledges support from a ‘Leids Kerkhoven-Bosscha Fonds’ (LKBF) travel grant to visit the API at UvA. LJS and ARM would like to thank DGAPA, UNAM for financial support provided by Programa de Apoyo a Proyecto de Investigacion e Inovacion Tecnologica (PAPIIT) projects IN102517andIN102617. JVHS acknowledges support from an STFC grant ST/R000824/1.Collections
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