High resolution spectroscopy of bright subdwarf B stars - I. Radial velocity variables

Radial velocity curves for 15 bright subdwarf B binary systems have been measured using high precision radial velocity measurements from high S/N optical high-resolution spectra. In addition, two bright sdB stars are discovered to be radial velocity variable but the period could not yet be determined. The companions for all systems are unseen. The periods range from about 0.18 days up to more than ten days. The radial velocity semi amplitudes are found to lie between 15 and 130 km/s. Using the mass functions, the masses of the unseen companions have been constrained to lower limits of 0.03 up to 0.55 M_sun, and most probable values of 0.03 up to 0.81 M_sun. The invisible companions for three of our program stars are undoubtedly white dwarfs. In the other cases they could be either white dwarfs or main sequence stars. For two stars the secondaries could possibly be brown dwarfs. As expected, the orbits are circular for most of the systems. However, for one third of the program stars we find slightly eccentric orbits with small eccentricities of e~0.02-0.06. This is the first time that non-circular orbits have been found in sdB binaries. No correlation with the orbital period can be found.