Analysis of the multiple system with CP component phi Draconis

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the triple star system phi Draconis, correcting previous orbital period estimates and characterizing its components' properties and orbital dynamics using multi-source data.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed study of phi Draconis's multiplicity, including a revised orbital period for the inner binary and analysis of the outer system’s motion.

Findings

Revised the orbital period of the inner binary to 128 days.

Confirmed the astrometric motion of the outer system matches a 308-year orbit.

Estimated component masses and brightnesses based on evolutionary models.

Abstract

The star phi Dra comprises a spectroscopic binary and a third star that together form a visual triple system. It is one of the brightest chemically peculiar (CP) stars of the upper main sequence. Despite these facts, no comprehensive study of its multiplicity has been performed yet. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of the triple system based on available measurements. We use radial velocities taken from four sources in the literature in a re-analysis of the inner spectroscopic binary (Aab). An incorrect value of the orbital period of the inner system Aab about 27 days was accepted in literature more than forty years. A new solution of orbit with the 128-day period was determined. Relative position measurements of the outer visual binary system (AB) from Washington Double Star Catalog were compared with known orbital models. Furthermore, it was shown that astrometric motion in system AB is well described by the model of Andrade (2005) with a 308-year orbital period. Parameters of A and B components were utilized to estimate individual brightness for all components and their masses from evolutionary tracks. Although we found several facts which support the gravitational bond between them, unbound solution cannot be fully excluded yet.