Adaptive Optics Photometry and Astrometry of Binary Stars. III. A Faint Companion Search of O-Star Systems

TL;DR

This study uses adaptive optics to detect faint companions around Galactic O-type stars, discovering 40 new companions and providing new orbital data, thereby enhancing understanding of massive star multiplicity.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive adaptive optics survey of O stars, discovering new faint companions and providing new astrometric orbits, which advances knowledge of massive star systems.

Findings

Discovered 40 new faint companions among O stars.

Provided new astrometric orbits for two binary systems.

Achieved detection limits of magnitude difference up to 9.5 in certain separations.

Abstract

We present the results of an adaptive optics survey for faint companions among Galactic O-type star systems (V < 8) using the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) 3.6-meter telescope on Haleakala. We surveyed these O star systems in I-band, typically being able to detect a companion with a magnitude difference of about 6 in the projected separation range of 0.5 to 1.0 arcseconds, and of about 9.5 in the range of 1.0 to 5.0 arcseconds. In the course of the survey, we discovered 40 new companions among 31 of the 116 objects examined and made astrometric and differential magnitude measurements of 24 additional known pairs, several of them being confirmation detections. We present new astrometric orbits for two binaries, BU 1032AB (WDS 05387-0236; sig Ori AB) and SEE 322 (WDS 17158-3344; HD 155889AB). We lack magnitude differences for other filter bands, so it is difficult to determine physical from line-of-sight companions, but we present empirical arguments for the limiting magnitude difference where field contamination is significant.