Full characterization of binary systems with a high dynamic range

NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service

Title:		Full characterization of binary systems with a high dynamic range
Authors:		Bordé, P.; Coudé du Foresto, V.
Affiliation:		AA(LESIA - Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 5, place Jules Janssen, 92195, Meudon, France: Pascal.Borde@obspm.fr), AB(LESIA - Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 5, place Jules Janssen, 92195, Meudon, France)
Journal:		SF2A-2002: Semaine de l'Astrophysique Francaise, meeting held in Paris, France, June 24-29, 2002, Eds.: F. Combes and D. Barret, EdP-Sciences (Editions de Physique), Conference Series, p. 577
Publication Date:		06/2002
Origin:		AUTHOR
Bibliographic Code:		2002sf2a.conf..577B

Abstract

Radial velocity measurements of binary systems lead to an incomplete set of orbital parameters. As a consequence, only minimum values for the masses of the two components can be determined. With the advent of long baseline stellar interferometry, it has become possible to resolve binaries with separations as small as a few mas. The latter technique yields the relative position of the secondary with respect to the primary, as well as the luminosity ratio between the two components. For systems observed with both techniques, a joint processing of the two kinds of data allows to retrieve all orbital parameters and thus to compute unambiguous estimates of the masses. We will review this method and discuss to what extent it could be applied to systems with low mass companions, such as brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets.