Contemporary information on the nature of the circumstellar environment in early-type interacting binaries derived from observation is discussed. Emphasis is placed on results from FUV spectroscopy. New spectra from the FUSE spacecraft and earlier FUV observations with IUE have revealed the presence of hot interaction regions, bipolar outflows, splash outflows, and accretion hot spots in Algol-type systems with B-type mass gainers. In addition, close O-type pairs and systems containing O + W stars show a shock-heated region generated from their colliding winds. Recent FUSE observations of an apparent hot accretion spot and associated splash plasma in the direct-impact system U Cephei are presented.

Chromospheric activity on the secondary stars of cataclysmic variables (CVs) is a key ingredient for angular momentum loss from the system via magnetic braking. This effect is thought to drive the evolution of the system and is invoked to explain a number of observed properties of CV light curves, such as long-term modulations and high/low states. However, obtaining observational support for magnetic activity has proven difficult. We present a new method of studying chromospheric activity on the secondary stars of CVs, using near-IR spectral features. We discuss in particular the magnetic CV AM Herculis, in which satellites to the H-alpha emission line are interpreted as arising from magnetically confined gas streams (prominences). This phenomenon provides a new technique for mapping magnetic structures on CV secondaries, and advances our understanding of the nature of magnetic structures and activity on CV secondaries.

The application of tomography to the study of gas flows in interacting binaries has led to fascinating images of the Cataclysmic Variables and Algol-type binaries. Such detailed images are currently unachievable using direct-imaging techniques. Numerous images of accretion flows have now been derived from optical and ultraviolet spectra and they have been used to identify multiple emission sources including the gas stream, accretion disk, accretion annulus, shock regions, and the chromosphere of the mass loser. It was difficult to distinguish between the separate sources of emission since these sources have overlapping velocities in the Doppler tomogram. However, with the aid of a new spectral synthesis code, we can now systematically extract the individual emission sources to sequentially isolate the images of the disk and gas stream. With these new tools, we have begun to extract the critical properties of the disk and gas stream more accurately than previously possible.

Many of the interesting spotted stars are in close binaries where one can find almost any rotational period due to the rotational synchronization with the orbital motion. Binaries are thus good laboratories to study the impact of particular astrophysical parameters that nature usually does not make easily observable. On rapidly-rotating stars, we can indirectly resolve the surface by tomographic imaging techniques and map the surface temperature distribution as a proxy of the (predominantly radial) magnetic field. Binaries are not as straightforward to map as single stars and I will show some examples where it was successful and some where it failed. Eclipses may give some clues on the amount of unresolved features in the images. I present one case of a bright giant of 100L⊙ in a close binary with even a deformed surface geometry but otherwise solar-type behavior. One of the basic goals is to learn about the impact of inter-binary magnetic fields on the evolution of its components in general and to eventually provide conclusive constraints for numerical MHD models on the other hand.

Processing long-baseline interferometry data presents a unique set of complications: How does one derive relative astrometry from interferometric data? How can 1-D interferometric results be used to solve a 2-D orbit? How can baseline-only solutions be combined with historical data and how should interferometric data be published so that they can be combined with archived data? What new techniques for interferometers are coming on line? This paper contains a brief review of interferometric data analysis in the context of binary star astrometry.

Innovative work on close binary models in 2003-06 improved upon synthesized line spectra, line profiles, and polarimetry; developed new ways of parameter estimation; and increased solution effectiveness and efficiency. Recent applications demonstrate the analytic power of binary system line spectrum models that pre-date the triennium. X-ray binary line profiles and radial velocity curves were refined by solution of the radiative transfer problem with specific inclusion of X-irradiation. Model polarization curves were generated by Monte Carlo experiments with multiple Thomson scattering in thin and thick binary system disks. In the parameter estimation area, independent developments by two groups now allow measurement of ephemerides, apsidal motion, and third body parameters from whole light and velocity curves, to supplement the traditional way of eclipse timings. Although the new route to those parameters is not well known within the ephemeris community, there are accuracy advantages and the number of applications is increasing. Numerical solution experiments on photometric mass ratios have checked two views of their intuitive basis, and show that mass ratios are well determined where star radii and limiting lobe radii are both well determined, which is for semi-detached or over-contact binaries with total-annular eclipses. Solution efficiency and automatic operation is needed for processing of light curves from large surveys, and will also be valuable for preliminary solutions of individually observed binaries. Neural networks have mainly been used for classification, and now a neural network program reliably finds preliminary solutions for W UMa binaries. Archived model light curves and Fourier fitting also are being pursued for classification and for preliminary solutions. Light curves in physical units such as erg·sec−1·cm−3 now allow direct distance estimation by combining the absolute accuracy of model stellar atmospheres with the astrophysical detail of a physical close binary model, by means of rigorous scaling between surface emission and observable flux. A Temperature-distance (T-d) theorem specifies conditions under which temperatures of both stars and distance can be found from light and velocity curves.

When the winds of two massive stars orbiting each other collide, an interaction zone is created consisting of two shock fronts at both sides of a contact surface. During the cooling process, elements may recombine generating spectral lines. These lines may be Doppler shifted, as the gas stream flows over the interaction zone. To calculate the stream velocity projected into the line of sight we use a simplified conical geometry for the shock fronts and, to determine the synthetic line profile, we have to sum the amount of emitting gas elements with the same Doppler shifted velocity. We show that the stellar mass loss rates and wind velocities, and the orbital inclination and eccentricity, are the main parameters on this physical process. By comparing observational data to the synthetic line profiles it is possible to determine these parameters. We tested this process to Brey 22 WR binary system, and applied to the enigmatic object of η Carinae.

Among the longest known eclipse durations and binary periods is that of the star ϵ Aurigae, which exhibits 2-year long eclipses every 27.1 years. Oddly, the nature of the secondary in the system continues to elude ready identification. In 1965, Huang proposed a massive disk as the eclipsing body, and study of the 1984 eclipse led Lissauer and Backman to suggest an embedded B star binary in the disk to maintain it. A collaboration of observers allows me to present recent optical photometry and spectroscopy, near-IR spectroscopy and Spitzer space telescope IRS and MIPS observations of ϵ Aurigae as it approaches its next eclipse. These data argue for current detectability of the embedded binary, and precession of the disk axis, suggesting a radical change is possible for the next mid-eclipse brightening. An international monitoring campaign for the 2009-2011 is being organized, and participation invited via website http://www.du.edu/~rstencel/epsaur.htm.

(1) 52 photographic and 651 electronic spectra were disentangled using the program KOREL. This led to the detection of a number of weak absorption lines originating in the atmosphere of the accretion disk. So far, the detection of this disk spectrum was only reported for the Si 6347 and 6371 Å doublet. (2) The basic spectrophotometric quantities of 15 absorption lines of the primary were measured and corrected for the orbital light changes in order to eliminate the contribution of the secondary light to the observed continuum level. After the correction, a significant phase dependency of the spectral-line characteristics near the primary eclipse was detected. In all probability, another so far unknown absorption-line spectrum was thus found. This spectrum may be due to additional absorption of light of the primary in one of the jet-like structures and in the spherical gas envelope surrounding the accretion disk. Both these structures are seen projected against the primary during its eclipse.

One of the most important changes in observational astronomy of the 21st Century is a rapid shift from classical object-by-object observations to extensive automatic surveys. As CCD detectors are getting better and their prices are getting lower, more and more small and medium-size observatories are refocusing their attention to detection of stellar variability through systematic sky-scanning missions. This trend is aditionally powered by the success of pioneering surveys such as ASAS, DENIS, OGLE, TASS, their space counterpart Hipparcos and others. Such surveys produce massive amounts of data and it is not at all clear how these data are to be reduced and analysed. This is especially striking in the eclipsing binary (EB) field, where most frequently used tools are optimized for object-by-object analysis. A clear need for thorough, reliable and fully automated approaches to modeling and analysis of EB data is thus obvious. This task is very difficult because of limited data quality, non-uniform phase coverage and solution degeneracy. This paper reviews recent advancements in putting together semi-automatic and fully automatic pipelines for EB data processing. Automatic procedures have already been used to process Hipparcos data, LMC/SMC observations, OGLE and ASAS catalogs etc. We discuss the advantages and shortcomings of these procedures.

We review the results of our analysis of the OGLE LMC eclipsing binaries (Mazeh, Tamuz & North 2006), using EBAS — Eclipsing Binary Automated Solver, an automated algorithm to fit lightcurves of eclipsing binaries (Tamuz, Mazeh & North 2006). After being corrected for observational selection effects, the set of detected eclipsing binaries yielded the period distribution and the frequency of all LMC short-period binaries, and not just the eclipsing systems. Somewhat surprisingly, the period distribution is consistent with a flat distribution in logP between 2 and 10 days. The total number of binaries with periods shorter than 10 days in the LMC was estimated to be about 5000. This figure led us to suggest that (0.7± 0.4)% of the main-sequence A- and B-type stars are found in binaries with periods shorter than 10 days. This frequency is substantially smaller than the fraction of binaries found by smaller radial-velocity surveys of Galactic B stars.

The Kepler Mission is a space-based photometric mission with a differential photometric precision of 14 ppm (at V = 12 for a 6.5 hour transit). It is designed to continuously observe a single field of view (FOV) of greater then 100 square degrees in the Cygnus-Lyra region for four or more years. The primary goal of the mission is to monitor more than one-hundred thousand stars for transits of Earth-size and smaller planets in the habitable zone of solar-like stars. In the process, many eclipsing binaries (EB) will also be detected and light curves produced. To enhance and optimize the mission results, the stellar characteristics for all the stars in the Kepler FOV with V < 16 will have been determined prior to launch. As part of the verification process, stars with transit candidates will have radial-velocity follow-up observations performed to determine the component masses and thereby separate eclipses caused by stellar companions from transits caused by planets. The result will be a rich database on EBs. The community will have access to the archive for further analysis, such as, for EB modeling of the high-precision light curves. A guest observer program is also planned to allow for photometric observations of objects not on the target list but within the FOV.

During its definition phase, ESA's Cornerstone mission Gaia was designed to perform extremely accurate photometry in 10 medium plus 5 broad bands and to collect about 90 epoch spectra with a resolving power of 11500 and a wavelength range 8480–8740Å (centered on the CaII triplet in the far red). Combining epoch photometry from the ground and the Hipparcos mission with ground-based spectra strictly simulating Gaia ones, we have investigated in a series of papers the performance expected from Gaia on SB2 EBs. We review here the results we obtained. The Gaia design is now under major revision, and its impact on EBs will be briefly addressed.

One of the most interesting constraints on star formation models comes from the study of multiplicity of young stars as a function of mass. While multiplicity studies of low-mass T Tauri stars have been quite exhaustive, an unbiased and systematic investigation of multiplicity among intermediate-mass Herbig Ae/Be (HAEBE) stars is still lacking. We are therefore conducting a photometric and spectroscopic survey of HAEBE stars to detect companions, establish their physical association with the primary and investigate their properties. The frequency and degree of multiplicity of HAEBE systems will provide new constraints on their formation mechanisms. In this paper we present preliminary results of the high resolution imaging part of the survey, carried out with the adaptive optics system Altair-NIRI on Gemini North. Of 72 stars observed, we find 44 possible binaries or multiples, including at least 25 not previously known.

Stellar multiplicity is a fundamental astrophysical property. In addition to being the only physical basis for accurate mass determination, this parameter is believed to influence important aspects such as planet formation and stability. Contrary to earlier expectations, recent studies have shown that even against selection biases, as many as 23% of the planetary systems reside in multiple star systems (Raghavan et al. 2006)). Leveraging recent efforts in identifying stellar and substellar companions to solar-type stars, and augmenting them with targeted observations, we are conducting a comprehensive survey, aimed at providing a modern update to the seminal work of Duquennoy & Mayor (1991). The details of our sample, survey methods, and some preliminary results are presented here.

We discuss the impact that the space experiment CoRoT, whose launch is scheduled for late 2006, will have on the field of close binary.

Many planet candidates have been detected by radial-velocity variations of the primary star; they are planet candidates, because of the unknown orbit inclination. Detection of the wobble in the two other dimensions, to be measured by astrometry, would yield the inclination and, hence, true mass of the companions. We aim to show that planets can be confirmed or discovered in a close visual stellar binary system by measuring the astrometric wobble of the exoplanet host star as a periodic variation of the separation, even from the ground. We test the feasibility with HD 19994, a visual binary with one radial velocity planet candidate. We use the adaptive optics camera NACO at the VLT with its smallest pixel scale (∼ 13 mas) for high-precision astrometric measurements. The separations measured in 120 single images taken within one night are shown to follow white noise, so that the standard deviation can be divided by the square root of the number of images to obtain the precision. In this paper we present the first results and investigate the achievable precision in relative astrometry with adaptive optics. With careful data reduction it is possible to achieve a relative astrometric precision as low as 50 μ as for a 0″.6 binary with VLT/NACO observations in one hour, the best relative astrometric precision ever achieved with a single telescope from the ground. The relative astrometric precision demonstrated here with AO at an 8-m mirror is sufficient to detect the astrometric signal of the planet HD 19994 Ab as periodic variation of the separation between HD 19994 A and B.

In 2005 we obtained very precise interferometric measurements of the pole-on rapid rotator Vega (A0 V) with the longest baselines of the Center for High Angular Angular Resolution (CHARA) Array and the Fiber Linked Unit for Optical Recombination (FLUOR). For the analysis of these data, we developed a code for mapping sophisticated PHOENIX model atmospheres on to the surface of rotationally distorted stars described by a Roche-von Zeipel formalism. Given a set of input parameters for a star or binary pair, this code predicts the interferometric visibility, spectral energy distribution and high-resolution line spectrum expected for the system. For the gravity-darkened Vega, our model provides a very good match to the K-band interferometric data, a good match to the spectral energy distribution – except below 160 nm – and a rather poor match to weak lines in the high dispersion spectrum where the model appears overly gravity darkened. In 2006, we used the CHARA Array and FLUOR to obtain high precision measurements of the massive, non-eclipsing, double-line spectroscopic binary Spica, a 4-day period system where both components are gravity darkened rapid rotators. These data supplement recent data obtained with the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI). Our study follows the classic 1971 study by Herbison-Evans et al. who resolved Spica as a binary with the Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer (NSII). We will report on our progress modeling the new interferometric and archival spectroscopic data, with the goal towards better constraining the apsidal constant.