Orbital and superorbital monitoring of the Be/X-ray binary A0538-66: constraints on the system parameters

We combine the decade-long photometry of the Be/X-ray binary system A0538-66 provided by the Massive astrophysical compact halo object (MACHO) and optical gravitational lensing experiment (OGLE) IV projects with high-resolution Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) spectroscopy to provide detailed constraints on the orbital parameters and system properties. The similar to 420 d superorbital modulation is present throughout, but has reduced in amplitude in recent years. The well-defined 16.6409 d orbital outbursts, which were a strong function of superorbital phase in the MACHO data (not occurring at all at superorbital maximum), are present throughout the OGLE IV coverage. However, their amplitude reduces during superorbital maximum. We have refined the orbital period and ephemeris of the optical outburst based on similar to 25 yr light curves to HJD = 2455674.48 +/- 0.03 + n*16.6409 +/- 0.0003d. Our SALT spectra reveal a B1 III star with vsin i of 285 kms(-1) from which we have derived an orbital radial velocity curve which confirms the high eccentricity of e = 0.72 +/- 0.14. Furthermore, the mass function indicates that, unless the neutron star far exceeds the canonical 1.44 M-circle dot, the donor must be significantly undermassive for its spectral type. We discuss the implications of the geometry and our derived orbital solution on the observed behaviour of the system.