Atmospheric chemical abundances and the evolutionary status of the spectroscopic and speckle-interferometric binary 9 Cyg

We have performed speckle interferometry with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory and spectroscopy (at 3700–9200 Å) with the 2-m telescope at Peak Terskol of the spectroscopic and interferometric binary 9 Cyg, which is a composite-spectrum star with an orbital period of 4.3 yrs. The atmosphere of the system’s primary component is analyzed in detail. The luminosities of both components estimated to be L ₁ = 103.8 L _⊙, L ₂ = 55.2 L _⊙, where L _⊙ is the solar luminosity, and their effective temperatures to be T _e (1) = 5300 K and T _e (2) = 9400 K. The abundances of C, N, O, Fe, and other elements in the primary’s atmosphere have been derived. The chemical composition shows signatures of mixing of material from its atmosphere and the region of nuclear reactions. The evolutionary status of 9 Cyg has been determined. The binary’s age is about 400 million years; the brighter star is already in the transition to becoming a red giant, while the secondary is still in the hydrogen-burning stage near the zero-age main sequence. We suggest an evolutionary model for the binary’s orbit that explains the high eccentricity, e = 0.79.