62 research outputs found
He II 4686 emission from the massive binary system in Car: constraints to the orbital elements and the nature of the periodic minima
{\eta} Carinae is an extremely massive binary system in which rapid spectrum
variations occur near periastron. Most notably, near periastron the He II
line increases rapidly in strength, drops to a minimum value,
then increases briefly before fading away. To understand this behavior, we
conducted an intense spectroscopic monitoring of the He II
emission line across the 2014.6 periastron passage using ground- and
space-based telescopes. Comparison with previous data confirmed the overall
repeatability of EW(He II ), the line radial velocities, and the
timing of the minimum, though the strongest peak was systematically larger in
2014 than in 2009 by 26%. The EW(He II ) variations, combined
with other measurements, yield an orbital period d. The observed
variability of the EW(He II ) was reproduced by a model in which
the line flux primarily arises at the apex of the wind-wind collision and
scales inversely with the square of the stellar separation, if we account for
the excess emission as the companion star plunges into the hot inner layers of
the primary's atmosphere, and including absorption from the disturbed primary
wind between the source and the observer. This model constrains the orbital
inclination to -, and the longitude of periastron to
-. It also suggests that periastron passage occurred on
d. Our model also reproduced EW(He II )
variations from a polar view of the primary star as determined from the
observed He II emission scattered off the Homunculus nebula.Comment: The article contains 23 pages and 17 figures. It has been accepted
for publication in Ap
Eta Carinae: an evolving view of the central binary, its interacting winds and its foreground ejecta
FUV spectra of Eta Car, recorded across two decades with HST/STIS, document
multiple changes in resonant lines caused by dissipating extinction in our line
of sight. The FUV flux has increased nearly ten-fold which has led to increased
ionization of the multiple shells within the Homunculus and photo-destruction
of molecular hydrogen. Comparison of observed resonant line profiles with
CMFGEN model profiles allows separation of wind-wind collision and shell
absorptions from the primary wind, P Cygni profiles.The dissipating occulter
preferentially obscured the central binary and interacting winds relative to
the very extended primary wind. We are now able to monitor changes in the
colliding winds with orbital phase. High velocity transient absorptions
occurred across the most recent periastron passage, indicating acceleration of
the primary wind by the secondary wind which leads to a downstream, high
velocity bowshock that is newly generated every orbital period. There is no
evidence of changes in the properties of the binary winds.Comment: 36 pages, 22 figures, accepted Astrophysical Journa
He II λ4686 emission from the massive binary system in η car: constraints to the orbital elements and the nature of the periodic minima
Eta Carinae (η Car) is an extremely massive binary system in which rapid spectrum variations occur near periastron. Most notably, near periastron the He ii λ4686 line increases rapidly in strength, drops to a minimum value, then increases briefly before fading away. To understand this behavior, we conducted an intense spectroscopic monitoring of the He ii λ4686 emission line across the 2014.6 periastron passage using ground- and space-based telescopes. Comparison with previous data confirmed the overall repeatability of the line equivalent width (EW), radial velocities, and the timing of the minimum, though the strongest peak was systematically larger in 2014 than in 2009 by 26%. The EW variations, combined with other measurements, yield an orbital period of 2022.7 ±0.3 days. The observed variability of the EW was reproduced by a model in which the line flux primarily arises at the apex of the wind-wind collision and scales inversely with the square of the stellar separation, if we account for the excess emission as the companion star plunges into the hot inner layers of the primary's atmosphere, and including absorption from the disturbed primary wind between the source and the observer. This model constrains the orbital inclination to 135°-153°, and the longitude of periastron to 234°-252°. It also suggests that periastron passage occurred on days). Our model also reproduced EW variations from a polar view of the primary star as determined from the observed He ii λ4686 emission scattered off the Homunculus nebula.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica
The apparent eta Carinae's long-term evolution and the critical role played by the strengthening of P Cygni absorption lines
Over the entire 20th century, Eta Carinae (\ec) has displayed a unique
spectrum, which recently has been evolving towards that of a typical LBV. The
two competing scenarios to explain such evolution are: (1) a dissipating
occulter in front of a stable star or (2) a decreasing mass loss rate of the
star. The first mechanism simultaneously explains why the central star appears
to be secularly increasing its apparent brightness while its luminosity does
not change; why the Homunculus' apparent brightness remains almost constant;
and why the spectrum seen in direct light is becoming more similar to that
reflected from the Homunculus (and which resembles a typical LBV). The second
scenario does not account for these facts and predicts an increase in the
terminal speed of the wind, contrary to observations. In this work, we present
new data showing that the P Cygni absorption lines are secularly strengthening,
which is not the expected behaviour for a decreasing wind-density scenario.
CMFGEN modelling of the primary's wind with a small occulter in front agrees
with observations. One could argue that invoking a dissipating coronagraphic
occulter makes this object even more peculiar than it already appears to be.
However, on the contrary, it solves the apparent contradictions between many
observations. Moreover, by assigning the long-term behaviour to circumstellar
causes and the periodic variations due to binarity, a star more stable after
the 1900s than previously thought is revealed, contrary to the earlier paradigm
of an unpredictable object.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, submitted to MNRA
A lanthanide-rich kilonova in the aftermath of a long gamma-ray burst
Kilonovae are a rare class of astrophysical transients powered by the
radioactive decay of nuclei heavier than iron, synthesized in the merger of two
compact objects. Over the first few days, the kilonova evolution is dominated
by a large number of radioactive isotopes contributing to the heating rate. On
timescales of weeks to months, its behavior is predicted to differ depending on
the ejecta composition and merger remnant. However, late-time observations of
known kilonovae are either missing or limited. Here we report observations of a
luminous red transient with a quasi-thermal spectrum, following an unusual
gamma-ray burst of long duration. We classify this thermal emission as a
kilonova and track its evolution up to two months after the burst. At these
late times, the recession of the photospheric radius and the rapidly-decaying
bolometric luminosity () support the
recombination of lanthanide-rich ejecta as they cool.Comment: 47 pages, 14 figures, 9 tables; submitted; a minor typo fixe
Herschelobservations of the W3 GMC (II): clues to the formation of clusters of high-mass stars
The W3 giant molecular cloud is a prime target for investigating the formation of high-mass stars and clusters. This second study of W3 within the HOBYS Key Program provides a comparative analysis of subfields within W3 to further constrain the processes leading to the observed structures and stellar population. Probability density
functions (PDFs) and cumulative mass distributions (CMDs) were created from dust column density maps, quantified as extinction AV. The shape of the PDF, typically represented with a lognormal function at low Av “breaking” to a power-law tail at high Av, is influenced by various processes including turbulence and selfgravity. The breaks can also be identified, often more readily, in the CMDs. The PDF break from lognormal (Av(SF)» 6–10 mag) appears to shift to higher Av by stellar feedback, so that high-mass star-forming regions tend to have higher PDF breaks. A second break at Av> 50 mag traces structures formed or influenced by a dynamic process. Because such a process has been suggested to drive high-mass star formation in W3, this second
break might then identify regions with potential for hosting high-mass stars/clusters. Stellar feedback appears to be a major mechanism driving the local evolution and state of regions within W3. A high initial star formation efficiency in a dense medium could result in a self-enhancing process, leading to more compression and favorable
star formation conditions (e.g., colliding flows), a richer stellar content, and massive stars. This scenario would be compatible with the “convergent constructive feedback” model introduced in our previous Herschel study
The GRANDMA network in preparation for the fourth gravitational-wave observing run
GRANDMA is a world-wide collaboration with the primary scientific goal ofstudying gravitational-wave sources, discovering their electromagneticcounterparts and characterizing their emission. GRANDMA involves astronomers,astrophysicists, gravitational-wave physicists, and theorists. GRANDMA is now atruly global network of telescopes, with (so far) 30 telescopes in bothhemispheres. It incorporates a citizen science programme (Kilonova-Catcher)which constitutes an opportunity to spread the interest in time-domainastronomy. The telescope network is an heterogeneous set of already-existingobserving facilities that operate coordinated as a single observatory. Withinthe network there are wide-field imagers that can observe large areas of thesky to search for optical counterparts, narrow-field instruments that dotargeted searches within a predefined list of host-galaxy candidates, andlarger telescopes that are devoted to characterization and follow-up of theidentified counterparts. Here we present an overview of GRANDMA after the thirdobserving run of the LIGO/VIRGO gravitational-wave observatories in and its ongoing preparation for the forthcoming fourth observational campaign(O4). Additionally, we review the potential of GRANDMA for the discovery andfollow-up of other types of astronomical transients.<br
Ready for O4 II: GRANDMA Observations of Swift GRBs during eight-weeks of Spring 2022
We present a campaign designed to train the GRANDMA network and its
infrastructure to follow up on transient alerts and detect their early
afterglows. In preparation for O4 II campaign, we focused on GRB alerts as they
are expected to be an electromagnetic counterpart of gravitational-wave events.
Our goal was to improve our response to the alerts and start prompt
observations as soon as possible to better prepare the GRANDMA network for the
fourth observational run of LIGO-Virgo-Kagra (which started at the end of May
2023), and future missions such as SM. To receive, manage and send out
observational plans to our partner telescopes we set up dedicated
infrastructure and a rota of follow-up adcates were organized to guarantee
round-the-clock assistance to our telescope teams. To ensure a great number of
observations, we focused on Swift GRBs whose localization errors were generally
smaller than the GRANDMA telescopes' field of view. This allowed us to bypass
the transient identification process and focus on the reaction time and
efficiency of the network. During 'Ready for O4 II', 11 Swift/INTEGRAL GRB
triggers were selected, nine fields had been observed, and three afterglows
were detected (GRB 220403B, GRB 220427A, GRB 220514A), with 17 GRANDMA
telescopes and 17 amateur astronomers from the citizen science project
Kilonova-Catcher. Here we highlight the GRB 220427A analysis where our
long-term follow-up of the host galaxy allowed us to obtain a photometric
redshift of , its lightcurve elution, fit the decay slope of the
afterglows, and study the properties of the host galaxy
Multi-band analyses of the bright GRB~230812B and the associated SN2023pel
GRB~230812B is a bright and relatively nearby () long gamma-ray
burst that has generated significant interest in the community and therefore
has been subsequently observed over the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We
report over 80 observations in X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and
sub-millimeter bands from the GRANDMA (Global Rapid Advanced Network for
Multi-messenger Addicts) network of observatories and from observational
partners. Adding complementary data from the literature, we then derive
essential physical parameters associated with the ejecta and external
properties (i.e. the geometry and environment) and compare with other analyses
of this event (e.g. Srinivasaragavan et al. 2023). We spectroscopically confirm
the presence of an associated supernova, SN2023pel, and we derive a
photospheric expansion velocity of v 17 km . We
analyze the photometric data first using empirical fits of the flux and then
with full Bayesian Inference. We again strongly establish the presence of a
supernova in the data, with an absolute peak r-band magnitude . We find a flux-stretching factor or relative brightness and a time-stretching factor ,
both compared to SN1998bw. Therefore, GRB 230812B appears to have a clear long
GRB-supernova association, as expected in the standard collapsar model.
However, as sometimes found in the afterglow modelling of such long GRBs, our
best fit model favours a very low density environment (). We also find small values for
the jet's core angle and
viewing angle. GRB 230812B/SN2023pel is one of the best characterized
afterglows with a distinctive supernova bump
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