|
Description
AX Monocerotis is a 232d, noneclipsing, interacting binary star that consists of a K giant, a Be-like giant, and a large amounts of circumstellar material. The K star is almost certainly a synchronous rotator and is probably in contact with its critical lobe. The Be star was believed to be a rapid rotator based on extremely wide absorption lines, but new spectra show that these lines arise from the circumstellar environment. Hydrogen emission, also circumstellar, is many times stronger than the continuum. Near-ultraviolet light curves exhibit a 0.5 mag dip near phase 0.75, but there is no such variability at longer wavelengths. Gas flow trajectories from the cusp of the K star toward the Be star provide a simple explanation for the photometric and spectroscopic behavior. We may have found a decreasing orbital period, but more data are necessary to confirm this result. We present several models for AX Mon based on (1) new and archival visible photometry, (2) archival ultraviolet spectroscopy, (3) new and archival visible spectroscopy, (4) new visible polarimetry, and (5) new radio photometry. Further observations, including optical interferometry, are proposed.
|
