Find radial velocity of star from orbiting body

AI Thread Summary
To find the radial velocity of a star in a two-body system with a known mass and eccentricity of the orbiting body, the barycenter must first be computed using the given mass and position of both objects. The orbit of the star can be derived from the combined mass's orbit, using the equation for elliptical orbits. Radial velocity can then be calculated by stepping through the orbital equation over time and differentiating position changes to obtain velocity. Additionally, the derivative of the angular momentum equation could provide insights into the system's dynamics. The discussion seeks a coherent method to connect these calculations effectively.
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How do I get radial velocity of a star given a single body orbiting it in a 2-body system?

I have the mass of both objects and for the second object it's eccentricity. Assume everything else is default or zero like the mean eccentricity.

I compute the barycenter between the star and smaller star/planet by,

R = \frac{m_1 p_1}{M} + \frac{m_2 p_2}{M}

where M = m_1 + m_2 and p = position of body

But we don't know the orbit of the first body so how can I find this?

Let's say I have the orbit for the combined masses and then find the orbit for the star.

r(theta) = r(0) * (1 + e) / (1 + e cos theta)

I can then find the radial velocity over time by stepping through that equation in time by,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keplers_laws#Position_as_a_function_of_time

And find it's offset from the origin, and compare small changes in position over time to numerically differentiate and hence find the velocity and then take the y component to find radial velocity...

Or could I use \frac{d (1/2 r^2 \theta)}{dt} = 0 somehow?

That's it, just a bunch of disconnected thoughts and no connected method. Help me out, would love to solve this :p
 
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