Tomographic Separation of Composite Spectra: The Components of the O-Star Spectroscopic Binary AO Cassiopeiae

Abstract

The UV photospheric lines of the short-period, double-lined O-star spectroscopic binary AO Cas are analyzed. Archival data from IUE (16 spectra uniformly distributed in orbital phase) were analyzed with a tomography algorithm to produce the separate spectra of the two stars in six spectral regions. The spectral classifications of the primary and secondary, O9.5 III and O8 V, respectively, were estimated through a comparison of UV line ratios with those in spectral standard stars. An intensity ratio of 0.5-0.7 (primary brighter) at 1600 A is compatible with the data.