Binaries in Acceleration and Stochastic Hipparcos Solutions

Extract

The Hipparcos astrometric parameters were obtained through the merging of abscissae data obtained by the FAST and NDAC Data Reduction Consortia. Using a different reduction scheme, other astrometric solutions may be obtained, although not statistically different: a weighted solution using FAST and NDAC astrometric solutions is shown, which gives both astrometric data and associated covariance matrix. This is applied to the acceleration and stochastic solutions. The intersection between merged and weighted solutions is then studied from the point of view of the possible signature of astrometric binaries.

New astrometric binaries were found during the Hipparcos data reduction process and their orbits were determined or improved. Other astrometric binaries may however be detected by searching for a quasi-sinusoidal signaturein right ascension and declination. For this purpose the observations of the candidate stars have been combined at a few different epochs, using the Hipparcos astrometric intermediate data.

A simultaneous fit of the astrometric and orbital parameters has then been done. However in most of the cases other ground-based data is needed in order to confirm the suspected binarity and to give a reliable orbit.