Binary stars in loose associations: AB Dor B and HD 160934

Paper i proceeding, 2014

Precise determination of dynamical masses of pre-main- sequence (PMS) stars is necessary to calibrate PMS stellar evolutionary models, whose predictions are in disagreement with measurements for masses below 1.2 Msun. Binary stars in young, nearby loose associations are particularly good candidates, since all members share a common age. We present phase-reference VLBI observations of two binary systems that belong to the AB Doradus moving, HD 160934 A/c and AB Dor Ba/Bb, from which we have measured both the relative and absolute orbital motion. Accordingly, we obtained precise estimates of the mass of the components of these binaries (ranging from 0.25 to 0.7 Msun). We will show how these measurements provide precise calibration points for testing PMS models of low-mass stars.