Study of the apsidal motion in the eclipsing binary MZ Lac

Abstract

A series of highly accurate photoelectric observations of the eclipsing binary MZ Lac was obtained with a 48-cm AZT-14 reflector at the Tien-Shan High-Altitude Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute from 1985 to 2004 to study its apsidal motion. We constructed a consistent system of physical and geometrical parameters of the components and the binary’s orbit: we determined their masses (M1 = 1.50M⊙, M2 = 1.29M⊙), radii (R1 = 1.86R⊙, R2 = 1.35R⊙), luminosities (L1 = 0.79L⊙, L2 = 0.45L⊙), surface gravities (logg1 = 4.06, logg2 = 4.27), age (t = 1.9 × 109 yr), and the distance to the binary (d = 510 pc). The binary exhibits apsidal motion with the period Uobs = 480 ± 40 yr, while its theoretically expected value is Uth = 450 ± 40 yr. Spectroscopic studies of MZ Lac and calculations of the absolute parameters of the components are required to test our conclusions.