Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sun In The Spectroscopic Binary Im Pegasi, The Guide Star For The Gravity Probe B Mission, Stephen C. Marsden, Svetlana Berdyugina, Jean-Francois Donati, Joel A. Eaton, Michael H. Williamson, Ilya Ilyin, Debra A. Fischer, Melesio Muñoz, Howard Isaacson, M. I. Ratner, Meïr Semel, Pascal Petit, Brad D. Carter

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present the first detection of the secondary of the spectroscopic binary system IM Pegasi (HR 8703), the guide star for the NASA-Stanford relativity gyroscope mission Gravity Probe B. In support of this mission, high-resolution echelle spectra of IM Peg have been obtained on an almost nightly basis. Applying the technique of least-squares deconvolution, we achieve very high signal-to-noise ratio line profiles and detect the orbit of the secondary of the system. Combining almost 700 new radial velocity measurements of both the primary and secondary of the system with previous measurements, we derive improved orbital parameters of the IM Peg …