A Physical Orbit for the High Proper Motion Binary HD 9939

Abstract

We report spectroscopic and interferometric observations of the high-proper motion double-lined binary system HD 9939, with an orbital period of approximately 25 days. By combining our radial-velocity and visibility measurements we estimate the system physical orbit and derive dynamical masses for the components of $M_A=1.072\pm 0.014$ M$_{\sun}$ and $M_B=0.8383\pm 0.0081$ M$_{\sun}$; fractional errors of 1.3% and 1.0%, respectively. We also determine a system distance of $42.23\pm 0.21$ pc, corresponding to an orbital parallax of ${\pi }_{\mathrm{orb}}=23.68\pm 0.12$ mas. The system distance and the estimated brightness difference between the stars in $V$, $H$, and $K$ yield component absolute magnitudes in these bands. By spectroscopic analysis and spectral energy distribution modeling we also estimate the component effective temperatures and luminosities as $T_{\mathrm{eff}}^A=5050\pm 100$ K and $T_{\mathrm{eff}}^B=4950\pm 200$ K and $L_A$ = 2.451 $\pm$ 0.041 $L_{\sun}$ and $L_B$ = 0.424 $\pm$ 0.023 $L_{\sun}$. Both our spectral analysis and comparison with stellar models suggest that HD 9939 has elemental abundances near solar values. Further, comparison with stellar models suggests the HD 9939 primary has evolved off the main sequence and appears to be traversing the Hertzsprung gap as it approaches the red giant phase of its evolution. Our measurements of the primary properties provide new empirical constraints on stellar models during this particularly dynamic evolutionary phase. That HD 9939 is currently in a relatively short-lived evolutionary state allows us to estimate the system age as 9.12 $\pm$ 0.25 Gyr. In turn the age and abundance of the system place a potentially interesting, if anecdotal, constraint on star formation in the galactic disk.

19 pages, 6 figures, ApJ in press; tables 1 and 3 to appear in ApJ on-line version

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