Simultaneous least-squares adjustment of visual and spectroscopic observations of binary stars

Université de Liège, boulevard du Rectorat, 7 B31 bte 53, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

Received: 15 January 1998
Accepted: 18 March 1998

Abstract

Double-lined spectroscopic visual binaries allow the hypothesis-free estimation of their individual mas ses and of their distances. Instead of two independent determinations of some orbital parameters, we propose a simultaneous adjustment of visual and spectroscopic observations. This paper presents the different steps of such a simultaneous adjustment: (a) to transform the problem into a quest for the global minimum of a nonlinear function; (b) to obtain that minimum using simulated annealing and the Broyden-Fletcher-Goldstrab-Shanno local search method.