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- Weigelt, G., et al.
(author)
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VLTI-MATISSE chromatic aperture-synthesis imaging of eta Carinae's stellar wind across the Br alpha line Periastron passage observations in February 2020
- 2021
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 652
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Eta Carinae is a highly eccentric, massive binary system (semimajor axis similar to 15.5 au) with powerful stellar winds and a phase-dependent wind-wind collision (WWC) zone. The primary star, eta Car A, is a luminous blue variable (LBV); the secondary, eta Car B, is a Wolf-Rayet or O star with a faster but less dense wind. Aperture-synthesis imaging allows us to study the mass loss from the enigmatic LBV eta Car. Understanding LBVs is a crucial step toward improving our knowledge about massive stars and their evolution. Aims. Our aim is to study the intensity distribution and kinematics of eta Car's WWC zone. Methods. Using the VLTI-MATISSE mid-infrared interferometry instrument, we perform Br alpha imaging of eta Car's distorted wind. Results. We present the first VLTI-MATISSE aperture-synthesis images of eta Car A's stellar windin several spectral channels distributed across the Br alpha 4.052 mu m line (spectral resolving power R similar to 960). Our observations were performed close to periastron passage in February 2020 (orbital phase similar to 14.0022). The reconstructed iso-velocity images show the dependence of the primary stellar wind on wavelength or line-of-sight (LOS) velocity with a spatial resolution of 6 mas (similar to 14 au). The radius of the faintest outer wind regions is similar to 26 mas (similar to 60 au). At several negative LOS velocities, the primary stellar wind is less extended to the northwest than in other directions. This asymmetry is most likely caused by the WWC. Therefore, we see both the velocity field of the undisturbed primary wind and the WWC cavity. In continuum spectral channels, the primary star wind is more compact than in line channels. A fit of the observed continuum visibilities with the visibilities of a stellar wind CMFGEN model (CMFGEN is an atmosphere code developed to model the spectra of a variety of objects) provides a full width at half maximum fit diameter of the primary stellar wind of 2.84 +/- 0.06 mas (6.54 +/- 0.14 au). We comparethe derived intensity distributions with the CMFGEN stellar wind model and hydrodynamic WWC models.
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| 2. |
- Kamp, I., et al.
(author)
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The formation of planetary systems with SPICA
- 2021
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In: Publications Astronomical Society of Australia. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 1323-3580 .- 1448-6083. ; 38
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this era of spatially resolved observations of planet-forming disks with Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and large groundbased telescopes such as the Very Large Telescope (VLT), Keck, and Subaru, we still lack statistically relevant information on the quantity and composition of the material that is building the planets, such as the total disk gas mass, the ice content of dust, and the state of water in planetesimals. SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) is an infrared space mission concept developed jointly by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and European Space Agency (ESA) to address these questions. The key unique capabilities of SPICA that enable this research are (1) the wide spectral coverage 10-220 mu m, (2) the high line detection sensitivity of (1-2) x10(-19)Wm(-2) with R similar to 2 000-5 000 in the far-IR (SAFARI), and 10-20Wm(-2) with R similar to 29 000 in themid-IR (SPICA Mid-infrared Instrument (SMI), spectrally resolving line profiles), (3) the high far-IR continuum sensitivity of 0.45mJy (SAFARI), and (4) the observing efficiency for point source surveys. This paper details how mid- to far-IR infrared spectra will be unique in measuring the gas masses and water/ice content of disks and how these quantities evolve during the planet-forming period. These observations will clarify the crucial transition when disks exhaust their primordial gas and further planet formation requires secondary gas produced from planetesimals. The high spectral resolution mid-IR is also unique for determining the location of the snowline dividing the rocky and icy mass reservoirs within the disk and how the divide evolves during the build-up of planetary systems. Infrared spectroscopy (mid- to far-IR) of key solid-state bands is crucial for assessing whether extensive radial mixing, which is part of our Solar System history, is a general process occurring in most planetary systems and whether extrasolar planetesimals are similar to our Solar System comets/asteroids. We demonstrate that the SPICA mission concept would allow us to achieve the above ambitious science goals through large surveys of several hundred disks within similar to 2.5 months of observing time.
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