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Session 60 - Multiple Stars.
Display session, Wednesday, June 12
Great Hall,
Söderhjelm (1980, AA, 89, 100) measured the rate of change of the inclination of the inner binary of Algol to be -0.10\pm0.05 degrees/century. Our numerical simulations show this rate to correspond to a relative inclination of the inner and outer binaries of 90.35\pm0.18 degrees.
This value is marginally inconsistent with the relative inclination deduced from recent VLBI measurements (Lestrade et al. 1993, ApJ, 410, 808) using the assumption the radio emission is centered on the secondary star: 100\pm5 degrees. It may be used to place an interesting constraint on the interpretation of future, higher resolution radio images.
This value is also conspicuously close to being precisely 90 degrees. We consider what impact evolution of the inner binary can have on the relative inclination, and hence whether the current inclination is a clue to the dynamic history of the Algol system.
