Optical interferometric observations of Theta 1 Orionis C from NPOI and implications for the system orbit

Abstract

With the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI), the binary system Theta 1 Orionis C, the most massive member of the Trapezium, was spatially resolved over a time period extending from February 2006 to March 2007. The data show significant orbital motion over the 14 months, and, after combining the NPOI data with previous measurements of the system from the literature, the observations span 10 years of the orbit. Our results indicate that the secondary did not experience an unusually close periastron passage this year, in contradiction to the prediction of a recently published, highly eccentric ~11 year orbit. Future observations of this source will be required to improve the orbital solution. Possible implications of the results in terms of system distance are discussed, although a main conclusion of this work is that a definitive orbit solution will require more time to obtain sufficient phase coverage, and that the interaction effects expected at periastron did not occur in 2007.

arXiv comment13 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJL

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• First Light for GRAVITY Wide: Large Separation Fringe Tracking for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer
• VISION: A Six-Telescope Fiber-Fed Visible Light Beam Combiner for the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer
• The multiplicity of massive stars in the Orion Nebula cluster as seen with long-baseline interferometry
• MONOS.II. Orbit review and analysis for 35 single-lined spectroscopic binary systems and candidates
• Turmoil in Orion: The Nearest Massive Protostar