The He I 6678-wavelength emission line of Phi Persei - New evidence of the companion star

We present H-alpha and He I lambda-6678 emission profiles for the Be binary system Phi Per. Both lines display orbital phase-related variations in radial velocity and equivalent width that can be used to associate the lines with emitting gas surrounding the Be star primary and undetected secondary. We find that one component of He I lambda-6678 em;ission follows the He II lambda-4686 radial velocity curve given by Poeckert (1981) which indicates an origin in the circumstellar gas near the secondary. A second emission component probably forms between the stars in a gas flow directed toward the high density portion of the primary's circumstellar disk that faces the secondary.