Spectroscopic and photometric observations of the short-period RS CVn-type star BH Virginis

High-resolution spectroscopic observations around the H α  line and BVRI  photometry from 1993 to 2003 of the eclipsing short-period RS CVn star BH Vir are presented. The simultaneous solution of our radial velocity curves and light curves yielded the following values for global parameters of the components: $M_{1}=$ 1.173  ± 0.006 $M_{\odot}$; $M_{2}=$ 1.046  ± 0.005 $M_{\odot}$; $R_{1}=$ 1.22  ± 0.05 $R_{\odot}$; $R_{2}=$ 1.11  ± 0.04 $R_{\odot}$; $i=$ 87.5°  ± 0.8°. The measured rotational broadening of the spectral lines corresponds to equatorial velocities V 1  = 79.8 km s -1 and $V_{2}=$ 68.4 km s -1 . Our data reveal considerable H α  emission excess of the two stellar components. We modelled the photometric data to find the size and location of the starspots for each year. The established decreasing trend of the spot latitudes may indicate a latitudinal cycle of at least a decade.