An analysis of accurate radial velocities ( RVs ) of the Be star \gamma Cas from 295 Reticon spectrograms secured between October 1993 and May 2000 allowed us to prewhiten the RVs for the long-term changes and to obtain the first orbital RV curve of this star .
The orbital period is 203 ^ { d } . 59 and the orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 .
The orbital motion is detectable even in the published velocities , based on photographic spectra .
This implies that \gamma Cas is a primary component of a spectroscopic binary .
The secondary has a mass of about 1 M _ { \odot } , appropriate for a white dwarf or a neutron star , but it could also be a normal late-type dwarf .
The ultimate solution of the dispute whether the observed X-ray emission is associated with the secondary or with the primary will need further dedicated studies .