Early-type stars in the young open cluster IC 1805 - I. The SB2 system BD+60 degrees 497 and the probably single stars BD+60 degrees 501 and BD+60 degrees 513

We investigate the multiplicity of three O-type stars in the very young open cluster IC 1805. All our targets were previously considered as spectroscopic binaries, but no orbital solution was available for any of them. Our results confirm the binarity of BD+60degrees 497 and we provide the very first orbital solution for this double-lined spectroscopic binary. This is only the second O-star binary in IC 1805, and the first SB2 system, for which an orbital solution is now available. BD+60degrees 497 has an orbital period of 3.96 days and consists of an evolved 06.5 V((f)) primary and an 08.5-9.5 V((f)) secondary with minimum masses of m, sin(3) i = 13.9 M-circle dot and m(2) sin 3 i = 10.9 M-circle dot. The observed primary/secondary mass ratio (1.28) appears lower than expected from a comparison with single star evolutionary models (1.60-1.74). For the other two stars, BD+60degrees 501 and BD+60degrees 513, we find no significant radial velocity variations, suggesting that they are most probably single. Although a fraction of binaries among the early-type stars of IC 1805 as high as 80% has been advocated in the literature, our results suggest that this number might be overestimated.