Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997mnras.288...43r&link_type=abstract
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 288, Issue 1, pp. 43-52.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
45
Scientific paper
New optical spectroscopy of the 1.7-d eclipsing binary pulsar HZ Her/Her X-1 is presented. The data are of higher quality than those used in previous studies. After making appropriate corrections for the distortion in the velocity curve due to the strong X-ray heating, the masses of the binary componnets are derived. The neutron star is found to have a mass of 1.5 +/- 0.3 M_sun, in contrast to the last radial velocity study which found a value of less than 1.0 M_sun. Rotational velocoity measurements, while insufficiently precise to reject the older mass estimate, suggest that the rotational period of HZ Her differs from the synchronous rate by no more than 20 per cent. Using a recently determined figure for the effective temperature of the unheated face, the distance to Her X-1 is estimated at 6.6 +/- 0.4 kpc, higher than prior estimates. The systemic velocity is found to be -65 +/1 2 km s^-1.
Chakrabarty Deepto
Levine Stephen E.
Quaintrell Hannah
Reynolds Alastair P.
Roche Paul
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