Speaker
Description
Massive binary systems provide fundamental constraints on stellar evolution through indirect measurements of stellar masses, radii, and distances. However, systems characterized by milli-arcsecond angular separations require interferometric techniques to resolve these parameters. Stellar Intensity Interferometry (SII), pioneered by the Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer in the 1970s, offers a powerful route to high angular resolution observations in the visible band and is currently experiencing a revival through the use of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes.
We present recent results from a spectro-interferometric study of a bright massive short-period binary system observed between 2023 and 2025 with the MAGIC telescopes at the Observatorio Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma. Calibrated visibility measurements obtained through SII were combined with high-resolution spectra and analyzed within a dedicated joint-fitting procedure.
The combined analysis enabled the reconstruction of the full orbital solution and the determination of the physical properties of both stellar components, including their masses, radii, and the system's distance from Earth. The results will be compared with previous studies while providing improved constraints on the system and demonstrating the capability of SII to resolve massive binary systems at milli-arcsecond angular scales.
