| 1. |
- Chiavassa, A., et al.
(författare)
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The extended atmosphere and circumstellar environment of the cool evolved star VX Sagittarii as seen by MATISSE star
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 658
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. VX Sgr is a cool, evolved, and luminous red star whose stellar parameters are difficult to determine, which affects its classification.Aims. We aim to spatially resolve the photospheric extent as well as the circumstellar environment.Methods. We used interferometric observations obtained with the MATISSE instrument in the L (3-4 mu m), M (4.5-5 mu m), and N (8-13 mu m) bands. We reconstructed monochromatic images using the MIRA software. We used 3D radiation-hydrodynamics simulations carried out with (COBOLD)-B-5 and a uniform disc model to estimate the apparent diameter and interpret the stellar surface structures. Moreover, we employed the radiative transfer codes OPTIM3D and RADMC3D to compute the spectral energy distribution for the L, M, and N bands, respectively.Results. MATISSE observations unveil, for the first time, the morphology of VX Sgr across the L, M, and N bands. The reconstructed images show a complex morphology with brighter areas whose characteristics depend on the wavelength probed. We measured the angular diameter as a function of the wavelength and showed that the photospheric extent in the L and M bands depends on the opacity through the atmosphere. In addition to this, we also concluded that the observed photospheric inhomogeneities can be interpreted as convection-related surface structures. The comparison in the N band yielded a qualitative agreement between the N-band spectrum and simple dust radiative transfer simulations. However, it is not possible to firmly conclude on the interpretation of the current data because of the difficulty in constraing the model parameters using the limited accuracy of our absolute flux calibration.Conclusions. MATISSE observations and the derived reconstructed images unveil the appearance of VX Sgr's stellar surface and circumstellar environment across a very large spectral domain for the first time.
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| 2. |
- Weigelt, G., et al.
(författare)
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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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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 652
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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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| 3. |
- Cockell, C.S., et al.
(författare)
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Darwin - an experimental astronomy mission to search for extrasolar planets
- 2009
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:1, s. 435-461
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a response to ESA call for mission concepts for its Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, we propose a mission called Darwin. Its primary goal is the study of terrestrial extrasolar planets and the search for life on them. In this paper, we describe different characteristics of the instrument.
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| 4. |
- Garatti, A. Caratti o., et al.
(författare)
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The GRAVITY young stellar object survey: II. First spatially resolved observations of the CO bandhead emission in a high-mass YSO
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 635
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The inner regions of the discs of high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs) are still poorly known due to the small angular scales and the high visual extinction involved. Aims. We deploy near-infrared spectro-interferometry to probe the inner gaseous disc in HMYSOs and investigate the origin and physical characteristics of the CO bandhead emission (2.3-2.4 m). Methods. We present the first GRAVITY/VLTI observations at high spectral (R = 4000) and spatial (mas) resolution of the CO overtone transitions in NGC2024 IRS 2. Results. The continuum emission is resolved in all baselines and is slightly asymmetric, displaying small closure phases (8). Our best ellipsoid model provides a disc inclination of 34 1, a disc major axis position angle (PA) of 166 1, and a disc diameter of 3:99 0:09 mas (or 1.69 0.04 au, at a distance of 423 pc). The small closure phase signals in the continuum are modelled with a skewed rim, originating from a pure inclination effect. For the first time, our observations spatially and spectrally resolve the first four CO bandheads. Changes in visibility, as well as differential and closure phases across the bandheads are detected. Both the size and geometry of the CO-emitting region are determined by fitting a bidimensional Gaussian to the continuum-compensated CO bandhead visibilities. The CO-emitting region has a diameter of 2.740:08 0:07 mas (1.16 0.03 au), and is located in the inner gaseous disc, well within the dusty rim, with inclination and PA matching the dusty disc geometry, which indicates that both dusty and gaseous discs are coplanar. Physical and dynamical gas conditions are inferred by modelling the CO spectrum. Finally, we derive a direct measurement of the stellar mass of M 14:7 M by combining our interferometric and spectral modelling results.
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| 5. |
- Garcia-Lopez, R., et al.
(författare)
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A measure of the size of the magnetospheric accretion region in TW Hydrae
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 584:7822, s. 547-550
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stars form by accreting material from their surrounding disks. There is a consensus that matter flowing through the disk is channelled onto the stellar surface by the stellar magnetic field. This is thought to be strong enough to truncate the disk close to the corotation radius, at which the disk rotates at the same rate as the star. Spectro-interferometric studies in young stellar objects show that hydrogen emission (a well known tracer of accretion activity) mostly comes from a region a few milliarcseconds across, usually located within the dust sublimation radius1–3. The origin of the hydrogen emission could be the stellar magnetosphere, a rotating wind or a disk. In the case of intermediate-mass Herbig AeBe stars, the fact that Brackett γ (Brγ) emission is spatially resolved rules out the possibility that most of the emission comes from the magnetosphere4–6 because the weak magnetic fields (some tenths of a gauss) detected in these sources7,8 result in very compact magnetospheres. In the case of T Tauri sources, their larger magnetospheres should make them easier to resolve. The small angular size of the magnetosphere (a few tenths of a milliarcsecond), however, along with the presence of winds9,10 make the interpretation of the observations challenging. Here we report optical long-baseline interferometric observations that spatially resolve the inner disk of the T Tauri star TW Hydrae. We find that the near-infrared hydrogen emission comes from a region approximately 3.5 stellar radii across. This region is within the continuum dusty disk emitting region (7 stellar radii across) and also within the corotation radius, which is twice as big. This indicates that the hydrogen emission originates in the accretion columns (funnel flows of matter accreting onto the star), as expected in magnetospheric accretion models, rather than in a wind emitted at much larger distance (more than one astronomical unit).
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| 6. |
- Garcia-Lopez, R., et al.
(författare)
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The GRAVITY young stellar object survey XII. The hot gas disk component in Herbig Ae/Be stars
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 684
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The region of protoplanetary disks closest to a star (within 1–2 au) is shaped by a number of different processes, from accretion of the disk material onto the central star to ejection in the form of winds and jets. Optical and near-IR emission lines are potentially good tracers of inner disk processes if very high spatial and/or spectral resolution are achieved. Aims. In this paper, we exploit the capabilities of the VLTI-GRAVITY near-IR interferometer to determine the location and kinematics of the hydrogen emission line Brγ. Methods. We present VLTI-GRAVITY observations of the Brγ line for a sample of 26 stars of intermediate mass (HAEBE), the largest sample so far analysed with near-IR interferometry. Results. The Brγ line was detected in 17 objects. The emission is very compact (in most cases only marginally resolved), with a size of 10–30 R∗(1–5 mas). About half of the total flux comes from even smaller regions, which are unresolved in our data. For eight objects, it was possible to determine the position angle (PA) of the line-emitting region, which is generally in agreement with that of the inner-dusty disk emitting the K-band continuum. The position-velocity pattern of the Brγ line-emitting region of the sampled objects is roughly consistent with Keplerian rotation. The exception is HD 45677, which shows more extended emission and more complex kinematics. The most likely scenario for the Brγ origin is that the emission comes from an MHD wind launched very close to the central star, in a region well within the dust sublimation radius. An origin in the bound gas layer at the disk surface cannot be ruled out, while accreting matter provides only a minor fraction of the total flux. Conclusions. These results show the potential of near-IR spectro-interferometry to study line emission in young stellar objects.
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| 7. |
- Koutoulaki, M., et al.
(författare)
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The GRAVITY young stellar object survey: IV. The CO overtone emission in 51 Oph at sub-au scales
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 645
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. 51 Oph is a Herbig Ae/Be star that exhibits strong near-infrared CO ro-vibrational emission at 2.3 μm, most likely originating in the innermost regions of a circumstellar disc. Aims. We aim to obtain the physical and geometrical properties of the system by spatially resolving the circumstellar environment of the inner gaseous disc. Methods. We used the second-generation Very Large Telescope Interferometer instrument GRAVITY to spatially resolve the continuum and the CO overtone emission. We obtained data over 12 baselines with the auxiliary telescopes and derive visibilities, and the differential and closure phases as a function of wavelength. We used a simple local thermal equilibrium ring model of the CO emission to reproduce the spectrum and CO line displacements. Results. Our interferometric data show that the star is marginally resolved at our spatial resolution, with a radius of ∼10.58 ± 2.65R·. The K-band continuum emission from the disc is inclined by 63° ± 1°, with a position angle of 116° ± 1°, and 4 ± 0.8 mas (0.5 ± 0.1 au) across. The visibilities increase within the CO line emission, indicating that the CO is emitted within the dust-sublimation radius. By modelling the CO bandhead spectrum, we derive that the CO is emitted from a hot (T = 1900-2800 K) and dense (NCO = (0.9-9) × 1021 cm-2) gas. The analysis of the CO line displacement with respect to the continuum allows us to infer that the CO is emitted from a region 0.10 ± 0.02 au across, well within the dust-sublimation radius. The inclination and position angle of the CO line emitting region is consistent with that of the dusty disc. Conclusions. Our spatially resolved interferometric observations confirm the CO ro-vibrational emission within the dust-free region of the inner disc. Conventional disc models exclude the presence of CO in the dust-depleted regions of Herbig AeBe stars. Ad hoc models of the innermost disc regions, that can compute the properties of the dust-free inner disc, are therefore required.
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| 8. |
- Labadie, Julia D., et al.
(författare)
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Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy and Colorectal Cancer Risk by Molecularly Defined Subtypes and Tumor Location
- 2020
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Ingår i: JNCI Cancer Spectrum. - : Oxford University Press. - 2515-5091. ; 4:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) is associated with a decreased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. As CRC is a heterogeneous disease, we evaluated whether the association of HT and CRC differs across etiologically relevant, molecularly defined tumor subtypes and tumor location. Methods: We pooled data on tumor subtypes (microsatellite instability status, CpG island methylator phenotype status, BRAF and KRAS mutations, pathway: adenoma-carcinoma, alternate, serrated), tumor location (proximal colon, distal colon, rectum), and HT use among 8220 postmenopausal women (3898 CRC cases and 4322 controls) from 8 observational studies. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of ever vs never HT use with each tumor subtype compared with controls. Models were adjusted for study, age, body mass index, smoking status, and CRC family history. All statistical tests were 2sided. Results: Among postmenopausal women, ever HT use was associated with a 38% reduction in overall CRC risk (OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.69). This association was similar according to microsatellite instability, CpG island methylator phenotype and BRAF or KRAS status. However, the association was attenuated for tumors arising through the serrated pathway (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.66 to 1.01) compared with the adenoma-carcinoma pathway (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.55 to 0.73; P-het =.04) and alternate pathway (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.51 to 0.72). Additionally, proximal colon tumors had a weaker association (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.62 to 0.80) compared with rectal (OR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.46 to 0.63) and distal colon (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.49 to 0.66; P-het = .01) tumors. Conclusions: We observed a strong inverse association between HT use and overall CRC risk, which may predominantly reflect a benefit of HT use for tumors arising through the adenoma-carcinoma and alternate pathways as well as distal colon and rectal tumors.
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| 9. |
- Malbet, F., et al.
(författare)
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Faint objects in motion: the new frontier of high precision astrometry
- 2021
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 51:3, s. 845-886
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sky survey telescopes and powerful targeted telescopes play complementary roles in astronomy. In order to investigate the nature and characteristics of the motions of very faint objects, a flexibly-pointed instrument capable of high astrometric accuracy is an ideal complement to current astrometric surveys and a unique tool for precision astrophysics. Such a space-based mission will push the frontier of precision astrometry from evidence of Earth-mass habitable worlds around the nearest stars, to distant Milky Way objects, and out to the Local Group of galaxies. As we enter the era of the James Webb Space Telescope and the new ground-based, adaptive-optics-enabled giant telescopes, by obtaining these high precision measurements on key objects that Gaia could not reach, a mission that focuses on high precision astrometry science can consolidate our theoretical understanding of the local Universe, enable extrapolation of physical processes to remote redshifts, and derive a much more consistent picture of cosmological evolution and the likely fate of our cosmos. Already several missions have been proposed to address the science case of faint objects in motion using high precision astrometry missions: NEAT proposed for the ESA M3 opportunity, micro-NEAT for the S1 opportunity, and Theia for the M4 and M5 opportunities. Additional new mission configurations adapted with technological innovations could be envisioned to pursue accurate measurements of these extremely small motions. The goal of this White Paper is to address the fundamental science questions that are at stake when we focus on the motions of faint sky objects and to briefly review instrumentation and mission profiles.
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| 10. |
- Defrere, D., et al.
(författare)
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Space-based infrared interferometry to study exoplanetary atmospheres
- 2018
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 46:3, s. 543-560
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The quest for other habitable worlds and the search for life among them are major goals of modern astronomy. One way to make progress towards these goals is to obtain high-quality spectra of a large number of exoplanets over a broad range of wavelengths. While concepts currently investigated in the United States are focused on visible/NIR wavelengths, where the planets are probed in reflected light, a compelling alternative to characterize planetary atmospheres is the mid-infrared waveband (5–20 μm). Indeed, mid-infrared observations provide key information on the presence of an atmosphere, the surface conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, habitability), and the atmospheric composition in important species such as H2O, CO2, O3, CH4, and N2O. This information is essential to investigate the potential habitability of exoplanets and to make progress towards the search for life in the Universe. Obtaining high-quality mid-infrared spectra of exoplanets from the ground is however extremely challenging due to the overwhelming brightness and turbulence of the Earth’s atmosphere. In this paper, we present a concept of space-based mid-infrared interferometer that can tackle this observing challenge and discuss the main technological developments required to launch such a sophisticated instrument.
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