The orbital inclination of A0620 - 00 measured polarimetrically

The mass of the degenerate primary in A0620 - 00 is inferred from its spectroscopic mass function to be not less than 3.2 solar masses, making it an excellent candidate for a black hole. The exact value of the mass depends on the orbital inclination. The inclination of a binary system can be determined from the shape of its Stokes parameter light curves if the linear polarization of the system varies as a function of orbital phase. A0620 - 00 over one 8-hour binary period was observed with the 4.5-m equivalent MMT. Its polarization in the visible is variable with orbital phase. The standard theory of Brown et al. (1978) was used to derive an orbital inclination of i = 57 deg (+20 deg, -50 deg), where the error is the 90-percent confidence interval. An inclination of i = 57 deg corresponds to a mass of the compact primary of 6.6 solar masses, but the large uncertainty in the measured value of the inclination allows the derived mass of A0620 - 00 to be as low as 3.8 solar masses. If this is taken to be the maximum mass of any degenerate configuration consistent with general relativity except a black hole, then the mass of A0620 - 00 is still not well enough determined to conclude that it must be a black hole. 21 refs