Spectroscopic detection of the secondaries of the Hyades interferometric spectroscopic binary theta[SUP]2[/SUP] Tauri and of the interferometric spectroscopic binary alpha Andromedae

Abstract

We report new high-resolution, wide-wavelength-coverage CCD observations of the visual and near-infrared spectra of the interferometric spectroscopic binaries theta(sup 2) Tau (primary spectral type A 7 III) and alpha And (primary spectral type B8 IVpMnHg), which allow the first direct spectroscopic detection of their secondaries. We have measured primary and secondary radial velocities and used them to redetermine the spectroscopic orbits of the primaries, make an improved determination of K(sub 2) for theta(sup 2) Tau, and measure K(sub 2) for alpha And for the first time. The spectroscopic orbits combined with the interferometrically measured visual orbits of theta(sup 2) Tau and alpha And provide masses and distances, M(sub 1) = 2.1 +/- 0.3 solar mass, M(sub 2) = 1.6 +/- 0.2 solar mass, and d = 44.1 +/- 2.2 pc for theta(sup 2) Tau and M(sub 1) = 5.5 +/- 0.5 solar mass, M(sub 2) = 2.3 +/- 0.2 solar mass, and d = 34.0 +/- 1.3 pc for alpha And. The distance to theta(sup 2) Tau and a foreground correction of 0.07 +/- 0.05 mag set the distance to the center of the Hyades cluster at 45.5 +/- 2.5 pc, or m - M = 3.29 +/- 0.12. Indirect estimates of the mass of theta(sup 2) Tau's primary, made via the mass-luminosity relation and via the Hyades cluster turnoff mass, are consistent with these dynamical masses for its primary and secondary. But in the case of alpha And, the mass-luminosity relation suggests that our dynamical masses for its primary and secondary may be too large. For alpha And somewhat smaller dynamical masses (4.0 and 1.9 solar mass) and the correspondingly smaller distance (31 pc), required by the corresponding larger orbital parallax, provide results consistent with the mass-luminosity relation for normal stars.