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Markov Chain Monte Carlo optimization applied to double stars from Miller & Pitman research

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Abstract

Model orbits have been fitted to 27 physical double stars listed in a 1922 catalog. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique was applied to estimate best-fitting values and associated uncertainties for the orbital parameters. Dynamical masses were calculated using parallaxes from the Hipparcos mission and are presented in this paper with the estimates of the orbital parameters for the 27 systems. The resulting mass estimates of the current study are in good agreement with a recently published study, as are comparisons with the orbital parameters listed by the Washington Double Star catalog, confirming the validity of the optimization methodology.

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  1. For further details on STAN see https://github.com/stan-dev/stan and https://mc-stan.org/users/documentation/

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Acknowledgements

This research has used the Washington Double Star (WDS) Catalog maintained at the US Naval Observatory. We thank Dr Rachel Matson for extracting data from the WDS for us. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium). Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, particularly the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. We thank the University of Queensland for the collaboration software. We thank the anonymous referee for their helpful comments and guidance, which improved this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Science and Engineering, Harper College, 1200 W Algonquin Rd, Palatine, IL, 60067, USA

    Maksym Ersteniuk & Timothy Banks

  2. Nielsen, 675 6th Ave, New York, 10011, USA

    Timothy Banks

  3. Carter Observatory, 40 Salamanca Road, Kelburn, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand

    Edwin Budding

  4. School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

    Edwin Budding

  5. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Michael D. Rhodes

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  1. Maksym Ersteniuk
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  2. Timothy Banks
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Correspondence to Timothy Banks.

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Ersteniuk, M., Banks, T., Budding, E. et al. Markov Chain Monte Carlo optimization applied to double stars from Miller & Pitman research. J Astrophys Astron 45, 9 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-024-09997-5

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