GCIRS16SW: a massive eclipsing binary in the Galactic Center
F. Martins1, S. Trippe1, T. Paumard1, T. Ott1, R. Genzel1,2, G. Rauw3, F. Eisenhauer1, S. Gillessen1, H. Maness4, R. Abuter5
(1) MPE, Postfach 1312, D-85741, Garching, Germany
(2) Department of Physics, University of California, CA 94720, Berkeley, USA
(3) Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Ao\ut 17, B\at. B5c, 4000 Liège, Belgium
(4) Department of Astronomy, University of California, CA 94720, Berkeley, USA
(5) ESO, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany
Paper: ApJL, accepted
Abstract:
We report on the spectroscopic monitoring of GCIRS16SW, an Ofpe/WN9
star and LBV candidate in the central parsec of the Galaxy. SINFONI
observations show strong daily spectroscopic changes in the K
band. Radial velocities are derived from the He i 2.112 mu m
line complex and vary regularly with a period of 19.45 days,
indicating that the star is most likely an eclipsing binary. Under
various assumptions, we are able to derive a mass of 50 \msun
for each component.
Preprints available from the authors at martins@mpe.mpg.de
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or the raw TeX (no figures) if you click here.
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