| 1. |
- De Beck, Elvire, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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ALMA observations of TiO2 around VY Canis Majoris
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 580
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Titanium dioxide, TiO2, is a refractory species that could play a crucial role in the dust-condensation sequence around oxygen-rich evolved stars. To date, gas phase TiO2 has been detected only in the complex environment of the red supergiant VY CMa. Aims. We aim to constrain the distribution and excitation of TiO2 around VY CMa in order to clarify its role in dust formation. Methods. We analyse spectra and channel maps for TiO2 extracted from ALMA science verification data. Results. We detect 15 transitions of TiO2, and spatially resolve the emission for the first time. The maps demonstrate a highly clumpy, anisotropic outflow in which the TiO2 emission likely traces gas exposed to the stellar radiation field. An accelerating bipolar-like structure is found, oriented roughly east-west, of which the blue component runs into and breaks up around a solid continuum component. A distinct tail to the south-west is seen for some transitions, consistent with features seen in the optical and near-infrared. Conclusions. We find that a significant fraction of TiO2 remains in the gas phase outside the dust-formation zone and suggest that this species might play only a minor role in the dust-condensation process around extreme oxygen-rich evolved stars like VY CMa.
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| 2. |
- De Beck, Elvire, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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ALMA observations of TiO2 around VY CMa
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Physics: Conference Series. - : IOP Publishing. - 1742-6588 .- 1742-6596. ; 728:2, s. Art. no. UNSP 022009-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titanium dioxide, TiO2, is a refractory species that could play a crucial role in the dust-condensation sequence around oxygen-rich evolved stars. We present and discuss the detections of 15 emission lines of TiO2 with ALMA in the complex environment of the red supergiant VY CMa. The observations reveal a highly clumpy, anisotropic outflow in which the TiO2 emission likely traces gas exposed to the stellar radiation field. We find evidence for a roughly east-west oriented, accelerating bipolar-like structure, of which the blue component runs into and breaks up around a solid continuum component. We see a distinct tail to the south-west for some transitions, consistent with features seen in the optical and near-infrared. We find that a significant fraction of TiO2 remains in the gas phase outside the dust-formation zone and suggest that this species might play only a minor role in the dust-condensation process around extreme oxygen-rich evolved stars like VY CMa.
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| 3. |
- Fomalont, E. B., et al.
(författare)
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THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: AN OVERVIEW
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 808:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A major goal of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is to make accurate images with resolutions of tens of milliarcseconds, which at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths requires baselines up to similar to 15 km. To develop and test this capability, a Long Baseline Campaign (LBC) was carried out from 2014 September to late November, culminating in end-to-end observations, calibrations, and imaging of selected Science Verification (SV) targets. This paper presents an overview of the campaign and its main results, including an investigation of the short-term coherence properties and systematic phase errors over the long baselines at the ALMA site, a summary of the SV targets and observations, and recommendations for science observing strategies at long baselines. Deep ALMA images of the quasar 3C 138 at 97 and 241 GHz are also compared to VLA 43 GHz results, demonstrating an agreement at a level of a few percent. As a result of the extensive program of LBC testing, the highly successful SV imaging at long baselines achieved angular resolutions as fine as 19 mas at similar to 350 GHz. Observing with ALMA on baselines of up to 15 km is now possible, and opens up new parameter space for submm astronomy.
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| 4. |
- Khouri, Theo, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Study of the inner dust envelope and stellar photosphere of the AGB star R Doradus using SPHERE/ZIMPOL
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 591
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. On the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) low-and intermediate-mass stars eject a large fraction of their envelope, but the mechanism driving these outflows is still poorly understood. For oxygen-rich AGB stars, the wind is thought to be driven by radiation pressure caused by scattering of radiation off dust grains. Aims. We study the photosphere, the warm molecular layer, and the inner wind of the close-by oxygen-rich AGB star R Doradus. We focus on investigating the spatial distribution of the dust grains that scatter light and whether these grains can be responsible for driving the outflow of this star. Methods. We use high-angular-resolution images obtained with SPHERE/ZIMPOL to study R Dor and its inner envelope in a novel way. We present observations in filters V, cntH alpha, and cnt820 and investigate the surface brightness distribution of the star and of the polarised light produced in the inner envelope. Thanks to second-epoch observations in cntH alpha, we are able to see variability on the stellar photosphere. We study the polarised-light data using a continuum-radiative-transfer code that accounts for direction-dependent scattering of photons off dust grains. Results. We find that in the first epoch the surface brightness of R Dor is asymmetric in V and cntH alpha, the filters where molecular opacity is stronger, while in cnt820 the surface brightness is closer to being axisymmetric. The second-epoch observations in cntH alpha show that the morphology of R Dor has changed completely in a timespan of 48 days to a more axisymmetric and compact configuration. This variable morphology is probably linked to changes in the opacity provided by TiO molecules in the extended atmosphere. The observations show polarised light coming from a region around the central star. The inner radius of the region from where polarised light is seen varies only by a small amount with azimuth. The value of the polarised intensity, however, varies by between a factor of 2.3 and 3.7 with azimuth for the different images. We fit the radial profile of the polarised intensity using a spherically symmetric model and a parametric description of the dust density profile, rho(r) = rho(degrees)r(-n). On average, we find exponents of -4.5 +/- 0.5 that correspond to a much steeper density profile than that of a wind expanding at constant velocity. The dust densities we derive imply an upper limit for the dust-to-gas ratio of similar to 2 x 10(-4) at 5.0 R-*. Considering all the uncertainties in observations and models, this value is consistent with the minimum values required by wind-driving models for the onset of a wind, of similar to 3.3 x 10(-4). However, if the steep density profile we find extends to larger distances from the star, the dust-to-gas ratio will quickly become too small for the wind of R Dor to be driven by the grains that produce the scattered light.
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| 5. |
- Liseau, René, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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ALMA's view of the nearest neighbors to the Sun: The submm/mm SEDs of the α Centauri binary and a new source
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 594, s. A109-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The precise mechanisms that provide the nonradiative energy for heating the chromosphere and corona of the Sun and other stars are at the focus of intense contemporary research. Aims. Observations at submm and mm wavelengths are particularly useful to obtain information about the run of the temperature in the upper atmosphere of Sun-like stars. We used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the chromospheric emission of the α Centauri binary system in all six available frequency bands during Cycle 2 in 2014-2015. Methods. Since ALMA is an interferometer, the multitelescope array is particularly suited for the observation of point sources. With its large collecting area, the sensitivity is high enough to allow the observation of nearby main-sequence stars at submm/mm wavelengths for the first time. The comparison of the observed spectral energy distributions with theoretical model computations provides the chromospheric structure in terms of temperature and density above the stellar photosphere and the quantitative understanding of the primary emission processes. Results. Both stars in the α Centauri binary system were detected and resolved at all ALMA frequencies. For both α Cen A and B, the existence and location of the temperature minima, first detected from space with Herschel, are well reproduced by the theoretical models of this paper. The temperature minimum for α Cen B is lower than for A and occurs at a lower height in the atmosphere, but for both stars, Tmin/Teff is consistently lower than what is derived from optical and UV data. In addition, and as a completely different matter, a third point source was detected in Band 8 (405 GHz, 740 αm) in 2015. With only one epoch and only one detection, we are left with little information regarding that object's nature, but we conjecture that it might be a distant solar system object. Conclusions. The submm/mm emission of the α Cen stars is indeed very well reproduced by modified chromospheric models of the quiet Sun. This most likely means that the nonradiative heating mechanisms of the upper atmosphere that are at work in the Sun are also operating in other solar-type stars.
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| 6. |
- O Gorman, Eamon, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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A search for radio emission from exoplanets around evolved stars
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 612
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The majority of searches for radio emission from exoplanets have to date focused on short period planets, i.e., the so-called hot Jupiter type planets. However, these planets are likely to be tidally locked to their host stars and may not generate sufficiently strong magnetic fields to emit electron cyclotron maser emission at the low frequencies used in observations (typically >= 150 MHz). In comparison, the large mass-loss rates of evolved stars could enable exoplanets at larger orbital distances to emit detectable radio emission. Here, we first show that the large ionized mass-loss rates of certain evolved stars relative to the solar value could make them detectable with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) at 150 MHz (lambda = 2 m), provided they have surface magnetic field strengths >50 G. We then report radio observations of three long period (>1 au) planets that orbit the evolved stars beta Gem, iota Dra, and beta UMi using LOFAR at 150 MHz. We do not detect radio emission from any system but place tight 3 sigma upper limits of 0.98, 0.87, and 0.57 mJy on the flux density at 150 MHz for beta Gem, iota Dra, and beta UMi, respectively. Despite our non-detections these stringent upper limits highlight the potential of LOFAR as a tool to search for exoplanetary radio emission at meter wavelengths.
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| 7. |
- O Gorman, Eamon, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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ALMA and VLA reveal the lukewarm chromospheres of the nearby red supergiants Antares and Betelgeuse
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 638
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We first present spatially resolved ALMA and VLA continuum observations of the early-M red supergiant Antares to search for the presence of a chromosphere at radio wavelengths. We resolve the free-free emission of the Antares atmosphere at 11 unique wavelengths between 0.7 mm (ALMA band 8) and 10 cm (VLA S band). The projected angular diameter is found to continually increase with increasing wavelength, from a low of 50.7 mas at 0.7 mm up to a diameter of 431 mas at 10 cm, which corresponds to 1.35 and 11.6 times the photospheric angular diameter, respectively. All four ALMA measurements show that the shape of the atmosphere is elongated, with a flattening of 15% at a similar position angle. The disk-averaged gas temperature of the atmosphere initially rises from a value of 2700 K at 1.35 R∗ (i.e., 0.35 R∗ above the photosphere) to a peak value of 3800 K at ∼2.5 R∗, after which it then more gradually decreases to 1650 K at 11.6 R∗. The rise in gas temperature between 1.35 R∗ and ∼2.5 R∗ is evidence for a chromospheric temperature rise above the photosphere of a red supergiant. We detect a clear change in the spectral index across the sampled wavelength range, with the flux density Sν ν1.42 between 0.7 mm and 1.4 cm, which we associate with chromosphere-dominated emission, while the flux density Sν ν0.8 between 4.3 cm and 10 cm, which we associate with wind-dominated emission. We show that the Antares MOLsphere is transparent at our observed wavelengths, and the lukewarm chromosphere that we detect is therefore real and not just an average of the cool MOLsphere and hot ultraviolet emitting gas. We then perform nonlocal thermal equilibrium modeling of the far-ultraviolet radiation field of another early-M red supergiant, Betelgeuse, and find that an additional hot (i.e., > 7000 K) chromospheric photoionization component with a much smaller filling factor must also exist throughout the chromospheres of these stars.
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| 8. |
- O Gorman, Eamon, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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ALMA Observations of Anisotropic Dust Mass Loss around VY CMa
- 2015
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Ingår i: 4th ALMA Science Conference on Revolution in Astronomy with ALMA: The Third Year, Tokyo, Japan, 8-11 December. - 9781583818831 ; 499, s. 335-336
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present high resolution ALMA Science Verification data of the continuum emission around the highly evolved oxygen-rich red supergiant VY CMa. These data enable us to study the dust in its inner circumstellar environment at a spatial resolution of 129 mas at 321 GHz and 59 mas at 658 GHz, thus allowing us to trace dust on spatial scales down to 11 R-star (71 AU). Two prominent dust components are detected and resolved. We find that at least 17% of the dust mass around VY CMa is located in clumps ejected within a more quiescent roughly spherical stellar wind, with a quiescent dust mass loss rate of 5 x 10(-6) M-circle dot yr(-1). The anisotropic morphology of the dust indicates a continuous, directed mass loss over a few decades, suggesting that this mass loss cannot be driven by large convection cells alone.
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| 9. |
- O Gorman, Eamon, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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ALMA observations of anisotropic dust mass loss in the inner circumstellar environment of the red supergiant VY Canis Majoris
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 573, s. Article no. L1-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The processes leading to dust formation and the subsequent role it plays in driving mass loss in cool evolved stars is an area of intense study. Here we present high resolution ALMA Science Verification data of the continuum emission around the highly evolved oxygen-rich red supergiant VY CMa. These data enable us to study the dust in its inner circumstellar environment at a spatial resolution of 129 mas at 321 GHz and 59 mas at 658 GHz, thus allowing us to trace dust on spatial scales down to 11 R-star (71 AU). Two prominent dust components are detected and resolved. The brightest dust component. C, is located 334 mas (61 R-star) southeast of the star and has a dust mass of at least 2.5 x 10(-4) M-circle dot. It has a dust emissivity spectral index of beta = -0.1 at its peak, implying that it is optically thick at these frequencies with a cool core of T-d less than or similar to 100 K. Interestingly, not a single molecule in the ALMA data has emission close to the peak of this massive dust clump. The other main dust component. VY, is located at the position of the star and contains a total dust mass of 4.0 x 10(-)5 M-circle dot. It also contains a weaker dust feature extending over 60 R-star to the north with the total component having a typical dust emissivity spectral index of beta = 0.7. We find that at least 17% of the dust mass around VY CMa is located in clumps ejected within a more quiescent roughly spherical stellar wind, with a quiescent dust mass loss rate of 5 x 10(-6) M-circle dot yr(-1). The anisotropic morphology of the dust indicates a continuous, directed mass loss over a few decades, suggesting that this mass loss cannot be driven by large convection cells alone.
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| 10. |
- O Gorman, Eamon, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of thermal radio emission from a single coronal giant
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 599
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the detection of thermal continuum radio emission from the K0 III coronal giant Pollux (beta Gem) with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The star was detected at 21 and 9 GHz with flux density values of 150 +/- 21 and 43 +/- 8 mu Jy, respectively. We also place a 3 sigma(rms) upper limit of 23 mu Jy for the flux density at 3 GHz. We find the stellar disk-averaged brightness temperatures to be approximately 9500, 15 000, and
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