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Session 45 - Eclipsing Binaries.
Display session, Thursday, January 08
Exhibit Hall,
We have observed a sample of five bright RS CVn binary stars with the Palomar Testbed Interferometer. The RS CVn systems typically consist of a cool, chromospherically active subgiant or giant of spectral type K-F, with a warmer but less luminous secondary. The periods of the stars in our sample range from 2--20 days. Each system was observed over several nights in order to sample a range of orbital phases. All five systems are found to be well resolved at the 4 mas resolution of the instrument. Simultaneous fits to all of the observed visibilities for a given binary will be used to estimate the visual orbit and the angular diameters of the component stars. The interferometric observations place interesting new constraints on models for these active stars.
