| Masses of Binary stars |
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| An
example. Suppose we measured the
period in a spectroscopic binary and |
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| knew the
spectral types (and hence the masses, as we shall see) of the |
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| component
stars. The period is 2 years (P = 2
years) and the stars are a G star |
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| (1
solar mass) and a M star (0.5 solar masses). What is the separation? |
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| MA+MB = 1.5 MSun |
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| 1.5 x (2)2 = (a/1 AU)3 |
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| 6 = (a/1 AU)3 |
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| 1.8 AU
= a |
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