A spectroscopic study of the eclipsing binaries SV Camelopardalis and XY Ursae Majoris

High-resolution spectroscopic observations of the eclipsing RS CVn-type active close binaries SV Camelopardalis and XY Ursae Majoris reveal excess emission components in the H α and H β lines. We have used the spectral subtraction technique to separate the excess emission from the photospheric background and find that in both stars the excess emission is associated with the secondary, cooler component. Analysis of the $EW_{\rm{H\alpha}}$/$EW_{\rm{H\beta}}$ ratio indicates that in both cases the emission is probably associated with surface plage regions or prominences viewed against the stellar disks. We find no evidence of excess absorption features associated with extended prominence-like material in these systems.