AX Mon photometry and UV spectra

The K star is almost certainly a synchronous rotator and is probably in contact with its critical lobe. The Be star was believed to be a rapid rotator based on extremely wide absorption lines, but new spectra show that these lines arise from the circumstellar environment.

Hydrogen emission, also circumstellar, is many times stronger than the continuum. Near-ultraviolet light curves exhibit a 0.5 mag dip near phase 0.75, but there is no such variability at longer wavelengths. Gas flow trajectories from the cusp of the K star toward the Be star provide a simple explanation for the photometric and spectroscopic behavior.