Apsidal motion in massive binaries

Abstract

One of the most efficient and reliable observational technique allowing to probe the internal structure of a star is the determination of the apsidal motion in close eccentric binaries. This secular precession of the binary orbit's major axis depends on the tidal interactions occurring between the two stars. Its rate is directly related to the internal structure of the stars, in particular their inner density profile. Combining radial velocity and light curve data over a long timescale, the apsidal motion rate can be constrained, together with the fundamental parameters of the stars. Confrontation of observational parameters to stellar models then allows us to constrain the internal structure of stars. This powerful technique has been known for years but has been seldom applied to massive stars. I highlight its interest and reveal recent results concerning several massive binaries. While standard stellar models predict stars having a smaller internal stellar structure constant, that is to say, stars having a smaller density contrast, than expected from observations, I demonstrate that the addition of mixing inside the models helps to solve, at least partially, this discrepancy. Studies with the non-perturbative code MoBiDICT showed that the perturbative model assumption is not justified in highly distorted stars, in which cases the apsidal motion is underestimated, exacerbating even more the need for enhanced mixing inside the models. But what happens if the binary is a double-line spectroscopic but non-eclipsing binary? In that case, we indeed have no estimate of the masses and radii of the stars. Surprisingly, the apsidal motion equations combined with the binary' spectroscopic observations allow us to derive the masses of the stars, in a model-dependent way. Rodolfo Barbá contributed to the development of this original method that I bring out.