Be stars as interacting binaries

It is suggested that the primary reason for the reluctance of researchers to accept the binary hypothesis concerning Be star behavior is that few such stars have been confirmed to be spectroscopic binaries. Obstacles to the detection of binary motion include the expectation that the semiamplitude for the radial velocity will be small, while spectral lines are often broad, complex features containing both absorption and weak emission components that render measurements more uncertain than those for sharp symmetrical lines. The recent determination of orbits for two relatively long period interacting binary Be stars, HR 2142 and Phi Per, are discussed in light of the semiamplitude value problem.