561 research outputs found
VLTI/MIDI observations of 7 classical Be stars
We measured the mid-infrared extension of the gaseous disk surrounding seven
Be stars in order to constrain the geometry of their circumstellar environments
and to try to infer physical parameters characterizing these disks. We used the
VLTI/MIDI instrument with baselines up to 130 m to obtain an angular resolution
of about 15 mas in the N band and compared our results with previous K band
measurements obtained with the VLTI/AMBER instrument and/or the CHARA
interferometer. We obtained one calibrated visibility measurement for each of
the four stars, p Car, zeta Tau, kappa CMa, and alpha Col, two for delta Cen
and beta CMi, and three for alpha Ara. Almost all targets remain unresolved
even with the largest VLTI baseline of 130m, evidence that their circumstellar
disk extension is less than 10 mas. The only exception is alpha Ara, which is
clearly resolved and well-fitted by an elliptical envelope with a major axis
a=5.8+-0.8mas and an axis ratio a/b=2.4+-1 at 8 microns. This extension is
similar to the size and flattening measured with the VLTI/AMBER instrument in
the K band at 2 microns. The size of the circumstellar envelopes for these
classical Be stars does not seem to vary strongly on the observed wavelength
between 8 and 12microns. Moreover, the size and shape of Alpha Ara's disk is
almost identical at 2, 8, and 12microns
A silicate disk in the heart of the Ant
We aim at getting high spatial resolution information on the dusty core of
bipolar planetary nebulae to directly constrain the shaping process. Methods:
We present observations of the dusty core of the extreme bipolar planetary
nebula Menzel 3 (Mz 3, Hen 2-154, the Ant) taken with the mid-infrared
interferometer MIDI/VLTI and the adaptive optics NACO/VLT. The core of Mz 3 is
clearly resolved with MIDI in the interferometric mode, whereas it is
unresolved from the Ks to the N bands with single dish 8.2 m observations on a
scale ranging from 60 to 250 mas. A striking dependence of the dust core size
with the PA angle of the baselines is observed, that is highly suggestive of an
edge-on disk whose major axis is perpendicular to the axis of the bipolar
lobes. The MIDI spectrum and the visibilities of Mz 3 exhibit a clear signature
of amorphous silicate, in contrast to the signatures of crystalline silicates
detected in binary post-AGB systems, suggesting that the disk might be
relatively young. We used radiative-transfer Monte Carlo simulations of a
passive disk to constrain its geometrical and physical parameters. Its
inclination (74 degrees 3 degrees) and position angle (5 degrees 5
degrees) are in accordance with the values derived from the study of the lobes.
The inner radius is 9 1 AU and the disk is relatively flat. The dust mass
stored in the disk, estimated as 1 x 10-5Msun, represents only a small fraction
of the dust mass found in the lobes and might be a kind of relic of an
essentially polar ejection process
A close look into the carbon disk at the core of the planetary nebula CPD-568032
We present high spatial resolution observations of the dusty core of the
Planetary Nebula with Wolf-Rayet central star CPD-568032. These observations
were taken with the mid-infrared interferometer VLTI/MIDI in imaging mode
providing a typical 300 mas resolution and in interferometric mode using
UT2-UT3 47m baseline providing a typical spatial resolution of 20 mas. The
visible HST images exhibit a complex multilobal geometry dominated by faint
lobes. The farthest structures are located at 7" from the star. The mid-IR
environment of CPD-568032 is dominated by a compact source, barely resolved by
a single UT telescope in a 8.7 micron filter. The infrared core is almost fully
resolved with the three 40-45m projected baselines ranging from -5 to 51 degree
but smooth oscillating fringes at low level have been detected in spectrally
dispersed visibilities. This clear signal is interpreted in terms of a ring
structure which would define the bright inner rim of the equatorial disk.
Geometric models allowed us to derive the main geometrical parameters of the
disk. For instance, a reasonably good fit is reached with an achromatic and
elliptical truncated Gaussian with a radius of 97+/-11 AU, an inclination of
28+/-7 degree and a PA for the major axis at 345+/-7 degree. Furthermore, we
performed some radiative transfer modeling aimed at further constraining the
geometry and mass content of the disk, by taking into account the MIDI
dispersed visibilities, spectra, and the large aperture SED of the source.
These models show that the disk is mostly optically thin in the N band and
highly flared.Comment: Paper accepted in A&
Extended envelopes around Galactic Cepheids IV. T Monocerotis and X Sagittarii from mid-infrared interferometry with VLTI/MIDI
Aims. We study the close environment of nearby Cepheids using high spatial
resolution observations in the mid-infrared with the VLTI/MIDI instrument, a
two-beam interferometric recombiner. Methods. We obtained spectra and
visibilities for the classical Cepheids X Sgr and T Mon. We fitted the MIDI
measurements, supplemented by B, V, J, H, K literature photometry, with the
numerical transfer code DUSTY to determine the dust shell parameters. We used a
typical dust composition for circumstellar environments. Results. We detect an
extended dusty environment in the spectra and visibilities for both stars,
although T Mon might suffer from thermal background contamination. We attribute
this to the presence of a circumstellar envelope (CSE) surrounding the
Cepheids. This is optically thin for X Sgr (tau(0.55microns) = 0.008), while it
appears to be thicker for T Mon (tau(0.55micron) = 0.15). They are located at
about 15-20 stellar radii. Following our previous work, we derived a likely
period-excess relation in the VISIR PAH1 filter, f(8.6micron)[%]=
0.81(+/-0.04)P[day]. We argue that the impact of CSEs on the mid-IR
period-luminosity (P-L) relation cannot be negligible because they can bias the
Cepheid brightness by up to about 30 %. For the K-band P-L relation, the CSE
contribution seems to be lower (< 5 %), but the sample needs to be enlarged to
firmly conclude that the impact of the CSEs is negligible in this band.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
The variable stellar wind of Rigel probed at high spatial and spectral resolution
We present a spatially resolved, high-spectral resolution (R=12000) K-band
temporal monitoring of Rigel using AMBER at the VLTI. Rigel was observed in the
Bracket Gamma line and its nearby continuum in 2006-2007, and 2009-2010. These
unprecedented observations were complemented by contemporaneous optical
high-resolution spectroscopy. We analyse the near-IR spectra and visibilities
with the 1D non-LTE radiative-transfer code CMFGEN. The differential and
closure phase signal exhibit asymmetries that are interpreted as perturbations
of the wind. A systematic visibility decrease is observed across the Bracket
Gamma. During the 2006-2007 period the Bracket Gamma and likely the continuum
forming regions were larger than in the 2009-2010 epoch. Using CMFGEN, we infer
a mass-loss rate change of about 20% between the two epochs. We further find
time variations in the differential visibilities and phases. The 2006-2007
period is characterized by noticeable variations of the differential
visibilities in Doppler position and width and by weak variations in
differential and closure phase. The 2009-2010 period is much more quiet with
virtually no detectable variations in the dispersed visibilities but a strong
S-shape signal is observed in differential phase coinciding with a strong
ejection event discernible in the optical spectra. The differential phase
signal that is sometimes detected is reminiscent of the signal computed from
hydrodynamical models of corotating interaction regions. For some epochs the
temporal evolution of the signal suggests the rotation of the circumstellar
structures.Comment: Paper accepted in the A&A journa
A dense disk of dust around the born-again Sakurai's object
In 1996, Sakurai's object (V4334 Sgr) suddenly brightened in the centre of a
faint Planetary Nebula (PN). This very rare event was interpreted as the
reignition of a hot white dwarf that caused a rapid evolution back to the cool
giant phase. From 1998 on, a copious amount of dust has formed continuously,
screening out the star which has remained embedded in this expanding high
optical depth envelope. The new observations, reported here, are used to study
the morphology of the circumstellar dust in order to investigate the hypothesis
that Sakurai's Object is surrounded by a thick spherical envelope of dust. We
have obtained unprecedented, high-angular resolution spectro-interferometric
observations, taken with the mid-IR interferometer MIDI/VLTI, which resolve the
dust envelope of Sakurai's object. We report the discovery of a unexpectedly
compact (30 x 40 milliarcsec, 105 x 140 AU assuming a distance of 3.5 kpc),
highly inclined, dust disk. We used Monte Carlo radiative-transfer simulations
of a stratified disk to constrain its geometric and physical parameters,
although such a model is only a rough approximation of the rapidly evolving
dust structure. Even though the fits are not fully satisfactory, some useful
and robust constraints can be inferred. The disk inclination is estimated to be
75+/-3 degree with a large scale height of 47+/-7 AU. The dust mass of the disk
is estimated to be 6 10^{-5} solar mass. The major axis of the disk (132+/-3
degree) is aligned with an asymmetry seen in the old PN that was
re-investigated as part of this study. This implies that the mechanism
responsible for shaping the dust envelope surrounding Sakurai's object was
already at work when the old PN formed.Comment: A&A Letter, accepte
A disk inside the bipolar planetary nebula M2-9
Bipolarity in proto-planetary and planetary nebulae is associated with events
occurring in or around their cores. Past infrared observations have revealed
the presence of dusty structures around the cores, many in the form of disks.
Characterising those dusty disks provides invaluable constraints on the
physical processes that govern the final mass expulsion of intermediate-mass
stars. We focus this study on the famous M2-9 bipolar nebula, where the moving
lighthouse beam pattern indicates the presence of a wide binary. The compact
and dense dusty core in the center of the nebula can be studied by means of
optical interferometry. M2-9 was observed with VLTI/MIDI at 39-47 m baselines
with the UT2-UT3 and UT3-UT4 baseline configurations. These observations are
interpreted using a dust radiative transfer Monte Carlo code. A disk-like
structure is detected perpendicular to the lobes and a good fit is found with a
stratified disk model composed of amorphous silicates. The disk is compact,
2535 mas at 8, and 3746 mas at 13. For
the adopted distance of 1.2 kpc, the inner rim of the disk is 15 AU. The
mass represents a few percent of the mass found in the lobes. The compactness
of the disk puts strong constraints on the binary content of the system, given
an estimated orbital period 90-120yr. We derive masses of the binary components
between 0.6--1.0M_{\sun} for a white dwarf and 0.6--1.4M_{\sun} for an
evolved star. We present different scenarios on the geometric structure of the
disk accounting for the interactions of the binary system, which includes an
accretion disk as well.Comment: 9 figures, A&A accepte
The expanding dusty bipolar nebula around the nova V1280 Sco
V1280 Sco is one of the slowest dust-forming nova ever historically observed.
We performed multi-epoch high-spatial resolution observations of the
circumstellar dusty environment of V1280 Sco to investigate the level of
asymmetry of the ejecta We observed V1280 Sco in 2009, 2010 and 2011 using
unprecedented high angular resolution techniques. We used the NACO/VLT adaptive
optics system in the J, H and K bands, together with contemporaneous VISIR/VLT
mid-IR imaging that resolved the dust envelope of V1280 Sco, and SINFONI/VLT
observations secured in 2011. We report the discovery of a dusty
hourglass-shaped bipolar nebula. The apparent size of the nebula increased from
0.30" x 0.17" in July 2009 to 0.64" x 0.42" in July 2011. The aspect ratio
suggests that the source is seen at high inclination. The central source shines
efficiently in the K band and represents more than 56+/-5% of the total flux in
2009, and 87+/-6% in 2011. A mean expansion rate of 0.39+/-0.03 mas per day is
inferred from the VISIR observations in the direction of the major axis, which
represents a projected upper limit. Assuming that the dust shell expands in
that direction as fast as the low-excitation slow ejecta detected in
spectroscopy, this yields a lower limit distance to V1280 Sco of 1kpc; however,
the systematic errors remain large due to the complex shape and velocity field
of the dusty ejecta. The dust seems to reside essentially in the polar caps and
no infrared flux is detected in the equatorial regions in the latest dataset.
This may imply that the mass-loss was dominantly polar
Fundamental parameters of 16 late-type stars derived from their angular diameter measured with VLTI/AMBER
Thanks to their large angular dimension and brightness, red giants and
supergiants are privileged targets for optical long-baseline interferometers.
Sixteen red giants and supergiants have been observed with the VLTI/AMBER
facility over a two-years period, at medium spectral resolution (R=1500) in the
K band. The limb-darkened angular diameters are derived from fits of stellar
atmospheric models on the visibility and the triple product data. The angular
diameters do not show any significant temporal variation, except for one
target: TX Psc, which shows a variation of 4% using visibility data. For the
eight targets previously measured by Long-Baseline Interferometry (LBI) in the
same spectral range, the difference between our diameters and the literature
values is less than 5%, except for TX Psc, which shows a difference of 11%. For
the 8 other targets, the present angular diameters are the first measured from
LBI. Angular diameters are then used to determine several fundamental stellar
parameters, and to locate these targets in the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
(HRD). Except for the enigmatic Tc-poor low-mass carbon star W Ori, the
location of Tc-rich stars in the HRD matches remarkably well the
thermally-pulsating AGB, as it is predicted by the stellar-evolution models.
For pulsating stars with periods available, we compute the pulsation constant
and locate the stars along the various sequences in the Period -- Luminosity
diagram. We confirm the increase in mass along the pulsation sequences, as
predicted by the theory, except for W Ori which, despite being less massive,
appears to have a longer period than T Cet along the first-overtone sequence.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 6 table
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