Is Proxima really in orbit about alpha CEN A/B.
Abstract
Despite the widespread acceptance that Proxima is in a bound orbit about Alpha Cen A/B, widely quoted kinematic data for these stars do not support such a conclusion. We set radial velocity limits for Proxima consistent with the bound-orbit hypothesis, and show that a reasonably precise radial velocity obtained by the ESO Coravel program lies close to these limits. However, given the importance of Proxima for a number of astrophysical questions, more accurate kinematic data are still merited.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- March 1993
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/261.1.L5
- Bibcode:
- 1993MNRAS.261L...5M
- Keywords:
-
- Solar Neighborhood;
- Stellar Motions;
- Stellar Systems;
- Radial Velocity;
- Stellar Orbits;
- Astrophysics