The Astronomical Journal (Jan 2024)

The Components of Cepheid Systems: The FN Vel System

  • Nancy Remage Evans,
  • Pierre Kervella,
  • Joanna Kuraszkiewicz,
  • H. Moritz Günther,
  • Richard I. Anderson,
  • Charles Proffitt,
  • Alexandre Gallenne,
  • Antoine Mérand,
  • Boris Trahin,
  • Giordano Viviani,
  • Shreeya Shetye

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad7fea
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 168, no. 5
p. 221

Abstract

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Cepheid masses continue to be important tests of evolutionary tracks for intermediate-mass stars as well as important predictors of their future fate. For systems where the secondary is a B star, Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra have been obtained. From these spectra a temperature can be derived, and from this a mass of the companion M _2 . Once Gaia DR4 is available, proper motions can be used to determine the inclination of the orbit. Combining mass of the companion, M _2 , the mass function from the ground-based orbit of the Cepheid and the inclination produces the mass of the Cepheid, M _1 . The Cepheid system FN Vel is used here to demonstrate this approach and what limits can be put on the Cepheid mass for inclination between 50° and 130°.

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