Robert P. Wilson

The Observations Of The X-Ray Source Hz Herculis-Hercules X-1

The results of a campaign of monitoring HZ Her with the IUE satellite are presented. The spectrum and light variation outside of eclipse are consistent with the Milgrom and Salpeter model for emission from the X-ray heated photosphere of the primary. Near eclipse there is UV flux in excess of the prediction of the heated photosphere model, which shows significant 35 day variations and is consistent with an origin in a precessing disk, as described by Gerend and Boynton. The spectrum shows the strong emission lines of N V and C IV, which generally vary in the sense of the continuum. The N V/C IV ratio is greater than 2 near orbital phase 0.5 and approaches unity near eclipse. It is suggested that these emission lines are optically thick and arise from both the heated photosphere and the accretion disk.

The Nature of V861 SCO (=HD 152667)

The physical parameters of the components of V861 Sco are derived from light-curve analysis and published spectroscopy. Good agreement with evolutionary models is obtained. The stellar wind is investigated using IUE data; the results include no large phase dependence of the mass loss rate and insensitivity of the velocity of the wind (measured with respect to interstellar lines) to changes in the photospheric velocity, even near the base of the wind. However, small random changes in velocity near the base of the wind are amplified to larger changes further out.