Observational signatures of past mass-exchange episodes in massive binaries: The case of HD 149 404

Context. Mass and momentum exchanges in close massive binaries play an important role in their evolution, and produce several observational signatures such as asynchronous rotation and altered chemical compositions, that remain after the stars detach again. Aims. We investigated these effects for the detached massive O-star binary HD 149 404 (O7.5 If + ON9.7 I, P = 9.81 days), which is thought to have experienced a past episode of case A Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF). Methods. Using phase-resolved spectroscopy, we performed the disentangling of the optical spectra of the two stars. The reconstructed primary and secondary spectra were then analysed with the CMFGEN model atmosphere code to determine stellar parameters, such as the effective temperatures and surface gravities, and to constrain the chemical composition of the components. We complemented the optical study with the study of IUE spectra, which we compare to the synthetic binary spectra. The properties of the stars were compared to evolutionary models. Results. We confirmed a strong overabundance in nitrogen ([N/C] similar to 150 [N/C](circle dot)) for the secondary and a slight nitrogen overabundance ([N/C] similar to 5 [N/C](circle dot)) for the primary star. Comparing the two stars, we found evidence for asynchronous rotation, with a rotational period ratio of 0.50 +/- 0.11. Conclusions. The hypothesis of a past case A RLOF interaction in HD 149 404 is most plausible to explain its chemical abundances and rotational asynchronicity. Some of the observed properties, such as the abundance pattern, are clearly a challenge for current case A binary evolution models, however.