The orbital parameters of the δ Cep inner binary system determined using 2019 HARPS-N spectroscopic data

Abstract

Context. An inner companion has recently been discovered orbiting the prototype of classical Cepheids, δ Cep, whose orbital parameters are still not fully constrained. Aims. We collected new precise radial velocity measurements of δ Cep in 2019 using the HARPS-N spectrograph mounted at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. Using these radial velocity measurements, we aimed to improve the orbital parameters of the system. Methods. We considered a template available in the literature as a reference for the radial velocity curve of the pulsation of the star. We then calculated the residuals between our global dataset (composed of the new 2019 observations plus data from the literature) and the template as a function of the pulsation phase and the barycentric Julian date. This provides the orbital velocity of the Cepheid component. Using a Bayesian tool, we derived the orbital parameters of the system. Results. Considering priors based on already published Gaia constraints, we find for the orbital period a maximum a posteriori probability of Porb = 9.32−0.04+0.03 years (uncertainties correspond to the 95% highest density probability interval), and we obtain an eccentricity e = 0.71−0.02+0.02, a semimajor axis a = 0.029−0.003+0.002 arcsec, and a center-of-mass velocity V0 = −17.28−0.08+0.08 km s−1, among other parameters. Conclusions. In this short analysis we derive the orbital parameters of the δ Cep inner binary system and provide a cleaned radial velocity curve of the pulsation of the star, which will be used to study its Baade–Wesselink projection factor in a future publication.