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C. Ouzts, L. R. Penny (College of Charleston)
The fundamental parameters of O-type stars are important tests of the theoretical predictions of massive stars. The most direct observational means of determining these parameters is through the study of binaries. In order for the mass of the component stars in a double-lined spectroscopic binary to be determined, some estimate of the inclination must be found. This emphasizes the importance of double-lined systems that also show light variations due to their orbital inclination (eclipses, ellipsoidal variations). HD 101213 was identified by Popper as a double-lined system in 1966. The spectroscopic orbit has been well studied since that time by various groups, the last being Stickland et al. (1995). The system shows unequal minima of roughly 0.5 and 0.4 magnitudes in V. The shapes of the eclipses and tidally-related ellipsoidal variation in the observed light curve are key clues to the stellar radii and orbital inclination, and we present a preliminary light curve solution to the HIPPARCOS light curve. We also present our determinations of individual spectral classifications (from the IUE spectra) and projected rotational velocities. We compare our observed masses to those derived from evolutionary tracks.