Search for forced oscillations in binaries. I. The eclipsing and spectroscopic binary V436 Persei = 1 Persei.

Outline of a project aimed at testing the presence of rapid line-profile variations in the atmospheres of hot components of close binaries is presented and its first results are described. An analysis of new electronic spectra of the eclipsing binary V436 Per from three observatories and of photoelectric observations, obtained earlier by several authors, leads to a unique determination of all basic physical elements of this interesting object. The first practical application of a new method of spectral disentangling allowed us to obtain, for the first time, individual accurate line profiles of both binary components and to derive their rotational velocities and orbital radial-velocity curves. We also detected absorption sub-features travelling from blue to red accross the He I 6678 line profile, in a series of six spectra taken during one night. At least one of the components of V436 Per is, therefore, a new hot line-profile variable.