Distance to U Pegasi by the DDE Algorithm

TL;DR

This paper presents a new method using the Wilson-Devinney program with the DDE algorithm to accurately determine the distance to the binary star U Pegasi, aligning with Hipparcos data and improving precision.

Contribution

It introduces a modified Wilson-Devinney approach incorporating the DDE algorithm for direct distance estimation of binary stars.

Findings

Distance to U Pegasi is 123.6 parsecs.

The method's distance estimate agrees with Hipparcos parallax.

The approach yields more precise distances than previous methods.

Abstract

A distance is found for the W UMa type binary U Pegasi, with a newly modified version of the Wilson-Devinney program (W-D) that makes use of the direct distance estimation (DDE) algorithm. The reported distance of d = 123.6pc is an average based on solutions for B and V data and a primary star temperature of 5800K. Standardized light curves (not differential), radial velocities, and a spectroscopic primary star temperature are input to the pro- gram. Differential corrections were performed for each light curve band along with the velocities for two primary temperatures that span 100K. Log10d is a model parameter like many others that are adjustable in W-D. The eclipsing binary distance agrees with the Hipparcos parallax distance and is more precise.