Orbits of Four Very Massive Binaries in the R136 Cluster

Philip Massey; Laura R. Penny; Julia Vukovich

doi:10.1086/324783

Orbits of Four Very Massive Binaries in the R136 Cluster

Astrophysics 2009-11-07 v1

Authors: Philip Massey , Laura R. Penny , Julia Vukovich

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Abstract

We present radial velocity and photometry for four early-type, massive double-lined spectroscopic binaries in the R136 cluster. Three of these systems are eclipsing, allowing orbital inclinations to be determined. One of these systems, R136-38 (O3 V + O6 V), has one of the highest masses ever measured, 57 Mo, for the primary. Comparison of our masses with those derived from standard evolutionary tracks shows excellent agreement. We also identify five other light variables in the R136 cluster which are worthy of follow-up study.

Keywords

R136 cluster massive binaries radial velocity spectroscopic binaries orbital inclination

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0110088,
  title  = {Orbits of Four Very Massive Binaries in the R136 Cluster},
  author = {Philip Massey and Laura R. Penny and Julia Vukovich},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0110088},
  year   = {2009}
}

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