Massive Star Multiplicity: The Cepheid W Sgr

Abstract

We have obtained spectra of the W Sgr system with the STIS spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The spectra resolve the system into a distant companion B which is the hottest star in the system and the spectroscopic binary (A = Aa + Ab). A and B are separated by 0.16". We have extracted the spectra of both of these. We see no flux in the Aa + Ab spectrum which cannot be accounted for by the Cepheid, and put an upper limit on the spectral type and mass of the companion Ab of F5 V and $\le$1.4Msun. Using the orbit from HST FGS measurements from Benedict, et al., this results in an upper limit to the mass of the Cepheid of $\le$5.4Msun. We also discuss two possible distant companions. Based on photometry from the 2MASS Point Source Catalog, they are not physical companions of the W Sgr system.

accepted for AJ

References in corpus (3)

• The Stellar Populations of Praesepe and Coma Berenices
• Cepheid Parallaxes and the Hubble Constant
• The Angular Separation of the Components of the Cepheid AW Per