The first Doppler images of the eclipsing binary SZ Piscium

Abstract

We present the first Doppler images of the active eclipsing binary system SZ Psc, based on the high-resolution spectral data sets obtained in 2004 November and 2006 September-December. The least-squares deconvolution technique was applied to derive high signal-to-noise profiles from the observed spectra of SZ Psc. Absorption features contributed by a third component of the system were detected in the LSD profiles at all observed phases. We estimated the mass and period of the third component to be about 0.9 M⊙ and 1283 ± 10 d, respectively. After removing the contribution of the third body from the least-squares deconvolved profiles, we derived the surface maps of SZ Psc. The resulting Doppler images indicate significant star-spot activities on the surface of the K subgiant component. The distributions of star-spots are more complex than that revealed by previous photometric studies. The cooler K component exhibited pronounced high-latitude spots as well as numerous low- and intermediate-latitude spot groups during the entire observing seasons, but did not show any large, stable polar cap, different from many other active RS CVn-type binaries.