A&A Supplement series, Vol. 127, February I 1998, 433-444
Received November 6, 1996; accepted June 5, 1997
M. Bossi, N.S. Nuñez
, G. Guerrero
,
J.-P. Sareyan
, and M. Alvarez
Send offprint request: M. Bossi. Internet: bossi@merate.mi.astro.it
Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-22055 Merate
LC, Italy
Observatorio Astronómico P. Buenaventura Suarez,
C.C. 1129, Asunción, Paraguay
Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, BP. 139, F-06003 Nice Cedex, France
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, UNAM, Apdo. 877, Ensenada, B.C. 22800,
Mexico
We present new photometric and spectroscopic observations of this peculiar Be
star: respectively 516 values in 16 nights and 50 spectrograms in
4 nights in the H
region. A feature of the HeI
line profile seems to indicate the presence of a double-lined binary spectrum.
Nevertheless, an analysis of our and other available data (former published and
unpublished photometry) leads us to rule out the current interpretations of the
double-wave light curve shown by this star: 14 Lac can neither be identified as
an ellipsoidal variable nor as an eclipsing binary. Its variability is likely
to be produced in the circumstellar region by a shell distortion due to the
presence of the companion star, even if there is not enough evidence to exclude
other hypotheses. The implications both of the duplicity assumption and of its
possible refutation are discussed.
keywords: stars: emission-line, Be -- general; spectroscopie (stars:) binaries: -- stars: individual: 14 Lac