Astron. Astrophys. 344, 172-176 (1999)

Revised masses of Centauri

D. Pourbaix ¹, C. Neuforge-Verheecke  ^{*  2} and A. Noels <sup>2

1</sup> Institut d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, C.P. 226, Boulevard du Triomphe, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
² Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique de l'Université de Liège, Avenue de Cointe 5, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

Received 7 October 1998 / Accepted 7 January 1999

Abstract

With the precise radial velocities lately published (Murdoch et al., 1993), a simultaneous least-squares adjustment of all visual and spectroscopic observations of the Centauri system is now possible and likely to yield some accurate information. Such an orbit determination leads to a mass ratio in agreement with the astrometric estimate of Kamper & Wesselink (1978) but yields upward revisions of the distance and masses. We examine the effects these revisions on the evolutionary status of the system.

Key words: stars: binaries: spectroscopic stars: binaries: visual stars: fundamental parameters stars: individual: ff Cen

* Chargé de Recherches of the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research

Send offprint requests to: D. Pourbaix (pourbaix@astro.ulb.ac.be)

SIMBAD Objects

Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Orbits, mass ratios and parallaxes
• 3. Simultaneous spectro-visual adjustment
• 4. Evolutionary models of Cen A and B
• 5. On the possibility of a planet around Cen A or B
• 6. Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• References

© European Southern Observatory (ESO) 1999

Online publication: March 10, 1999
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