The Revised Orbit of the Delta Sco System

TL;DR

This paper refines the orbit of the Delta Scorpii binary system using high-resolution interferometry, providing the most accurate orbital data to date and predicting the next periastron in 2011.

Contribution

It offers the most comprehensive and precise orbital parameters for Delta Scorpii, improving predictions of its upcoming periastron passage.

Findings

Most complete orbital coverage to date

Revised timing of 2011 periastron

Enhanced understanding of binary system dynamics

Abstract

In anticipation of the possible collision between a circumstellar disk and the secondary star in the highly eccentric binary system Delta Scorpii, high angular resolution interferometric observations have been acquired aimed at revising the binary parameters. The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) was used to spatially resolve the binary components in 2000 and over a period between 2005 and 2010. The interferometric observations are used to obtain the angular separations and orientations of the two stellar components at all epochs for which data has been obtained, including 2005 and 2006, for which based on previous studies there was some uncertainty as to if the signature of binarity can be clearly detected. The results of this study represent the most complete and accurate coverage of the binary orbit of this system to date and allow for the revised timing of the upcoming periastron passage that will occur in 2011 to be obtained.