K-Corrections to radial-velocity curves of optical components in X-ray binaries. Massive systems with weak X-ray heating

Abstract

The radial velocity curves of optical components in X-ray binary systems can differ from the radial velocity curves of their barycenters due to tidal distortion, gravitational darkening, X-ray heating, etc. This motivated us to investigate how the semiamplitudes of the radial velocity curves of these optical components can depend on the binary-system parameters in a Roche model. The K-correction is taken to be the ratio of the radial velocity semiamplitude for a star in the Roche model to the corresponding value for the stellar barycenter. K-corrections are tabulated for the optical stars in the massive X-ray binaries Cen X-3, LMC X-4, SMC X-1, Vela X-1, and 4U 1538-52.