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K.M. Vanlandingham (Columbia University, Biosphere 2 Center), R.M. Wagner (University of Arizona, LBTO)
We report on optical spectra of XTE J1118+480, discovered by RXTE on March 19 2000. Observations were taken with the MDM 2.4-m Hiltner telescope and CCDS covering the interval 3700-5400 Å\ at a spectral resolution of about 4 Å. The spectra from April and May of 2000 reveal double-peaked emission lines of HeII 4686. The blue and red peaks are offset from the line center and are stationary with time. The line profile changes over the course of the observations and is asymmetric, with the blue peak ranging from being equal to or stronger than the red peak. Measurments of the equivalent widths of the peaks reveal that the blue peak EW varies by a factor of 2 on a timescale which agrees with the 0.17d orbital period suggested by Patterson et. al (IAUC 7412). No systematic variation is seen in the red peak EW.