Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 1989
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1989pasp..101.1135d&link_type=abstract
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Publications (ISSN 0004-6280), vol. 101, Dec. 1989, p. 1135-1139.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
12
Astrometry, Astronomical Spectroscopy, Black Holes (Astronomy), Polarimetry, X Ray Binaries, Dwarf Stars, K Stars, Light Curve, Linear Polarization, Stellar Mass, Stellar Orbits
Scientific paper
The mass of the degenerate primary in A0620 - 00 is inferred from its spectroscopic mass function to be not less than 3.2 solar masses, making it an excellent candidate for a black hole. The exact value of the mass depends on the orbital inclination. The inclination of a binary system can be determined from the shape of its Stokes parameter light curves if the linear polarization of the system varies as a function of orbital phase. A0620 - 00 over one 8-hour binary period was observed with the 4.5-m equivalent MMT. Its polarization in the visible is variable with orbital phase. The standard theory of Brown et al. (1978) was used to derive an orbital inclination of i = 57 deg (+20 deg, -50 deg), where the error is the 90-percent confidence interval. An inclination of i = 57 deg corresponds to a mass of the compact primary of 6.6 solar masses, but the large uncertainty in the measured value of the inclination allows the derived mass of A0620 - 00 to be as low as 3.8 solar masses. If this is taken to be the maximum mass of any degenerate configuration consistent with general relativity except a black hole, then the mass of A0620 - 00 is still not well enough determined to conclude that it must be a black hole.
Dolan Joseph F.
Tapia Santiago
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