Is the statement
From radial velocities or astrometry for eclipsing binaries, one obtains masses.
wrong, because only minimal masses can be obtained?
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1$\begingroup$ What is the source of the statement, please. $\endgroup$– James KAug 30, 2021 at 6:39
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$\begingroup$ "one obtains masses" is a very vague statement. It can also refer to minimal masses I guess. $\endgroup$– prodyAug 30, 2021 at 6:56
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$\begingroup$ Thus, 'From RVs or astrometry for eclipsing binaries, one obtains minimal masses.' is correct? $\endgroup$– Anna-KatAug 30, 2021 at 7:18
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$\begingroup$ Radial velocities $\endgroup$– Anna-KatAug 30, 2021 at 7:25
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$\begingroup$ I find it difficult to judge the absolute truth of such short and out of context statements that you are asking also in other questions. I really think it could help if you provided more context. In this case the statement may be correct because if the binaries are eclipsing then the $\sin i$ degeneracy is broken and one can obtain the true masses $\endgroup$– PrallaxAug 30, 2021 at 8:17
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1 Answer
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No, it is correct. The inclination of an eclipsing binary can be estimated from the light curve (and is likely to be close to 90 degrees in order to produce an eclipse).
The radial velocity curves can then give $M_{1,2}\sin(i)$ and hence the component masses.
