The rotation of α Oph investigated using polarimetry

Recently we have demonstrated that high-precision polarization observations can detect the polarization resulting from the rotational distortion of a rapidly rotating B-type star. Here we investigate the extension of this approach to an A-type star. Linear-polarization observations of $\\alpha$ Oph (A5IV) have been obtained over wavelengths from 400 to 750 nm. They show the wavelength dependence expected for a rapidly-rotating star combined with a contribution from interstellar polarization. We model the observations by fitting rotating-star polarization models and adding additional constraints including a measured $v_e \\sin{i}$. However, we cannot fully separate the effects of rotation rate and inclination, leaving a range of possible solutions. We determine a rotation rate $\\omega = \\Omega/\\Omega_ c$ between 0.83 and 0.98 and an axial inclination i \u003e 60 deg. The rotation-axis position angle is found to be 142 $\\pm$ 4 deg, differing by 16 deg from a value obtained by interferometry. This might be due to precession of the rotation axis due to interaction with the binary companion. Other parameters resulting from the analysis include a polar temperature Tp = 8725 $\\pm$ 175 K, polar gravity $\\log{g_p} = 3.93 \\pm 0.08$ (dex cgs), and polar radius $R_{\\rm p} = 2.52 \\pm 0.06$ Rsun. Comparison with rotating-star evolutionary models indicates that $\\alpha$ Oph is in the later half of its main-sequence evolution and must have had an initial $\\omega$ of 0.8 or greater. The interstellar polarization has a maximum value at a wavelength ($\\lambda_{\\rm max}$) of $440 \\pm 110$ nm, consistent with values found for other nearby stars.