A Pre-Periastron UV Look and Estimate of the Mass Loss Rate of the Be Companion of PSR 1259-63

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Session 18 -- Stellar Spectra: Individual Objects
Display presentation, Wednesday, January 12, 9:30-6:45, Salons I/II Room (Crystal Gateway)

[18.05] A Pre-Periastron UV Look and Estimate of the Mass Loss Rate of the Be Companion of PSR 1259-63

B. McCollum (CSC)

PSR 1259-63 was recently found to be the first radio pulsar with a massive nondegenerate companion, the Be star SS 2883. In January, 1994, the pulsar in its highly eccentric, long-period orbit will reach periastron, at which time it is expected to collide with the wind and the circumstellar material of SS 2883. A large multiwavelength campaign has been set up to observe this event. I obtained IUE observations of SS 2883 in 1992, when the stars in this system were near maximum separation. A deep blueshifted C IV 1550{\AA} absorption feature is evident, demonstrating that there is a wind. The terminal velocity of the wind is estimated to be 1350 +/- 200 km/s. An approximate mass loss rate is derived, and the spectral type of SS 2883 is estimated based on the IUE spectrum.

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