Uva-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Uva-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Mass loss and evolution of asymptotic giant branch stars in the Magellanic Clouds van Loon, J.T. Publication date 1999 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): van Loon, J. T. (1999). Mass loss and evolution of asymptotic giant branch stars in the Magellanic Clouds. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:27 Sep 2021 Chapterr 7 ISOO observations of obscured Asymptoticc Giant Branch stars in the Largee Magellanic Cloud NormanNorman R. Trams, Jacco Th. van Loon, L.B.F.M. Waters, Albert A. Zijlstra, Cecile Loup, PatriciaPatricia A. Whitelock, M.A.T. Groenewegen, Joris A.D.L. Blommaert, Ralf Siebenmorgen, A. Heske,Heske, Michael W. Feast, 1999, A&A Main Journal in press Wee present ISO photometric and spectroscopic observations of a sample of 57 bright Asymptotic Giantt Branch stars and red supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud, selected on the basis of IRASS colours indicative of high mass-loss rates. PHOT-P and PHOT-C photometry at 12, 25 andd 60 ^m and CAM photometry at 12 /xm are used in combination with quasi-simultaneous ground-basedd near-IR photometry to construct colour-colour diagrams for all stars in our sam- ple.. PHOT-S and CAM-CVF spectra in the 3 to 14 /im region are presented for 23 stars. From thee colour-colour diagrams and the spectra, we establish the chemical types of the dust around 499 stars in this sample. Many stars have carbon-rich dust. The most luminous carbon star in thee Magellanic Clouds has also a (minor) oxygen-rich component. OH/IR stars have silicate absorptionn with emission wings. The unique dataset presented here allows a detailed study of aa representative sample of thermal-pulsing AGB stars with well-determined luminosities. 7.11 Introduction Onee of the least expected achievements of the Infra-Red Astronomical Satellite (IRAS; Neuge- bauerr et al. 1984) was the detection of a large number of mid-IR point sources in the Large Magellanicc Cloud (LMC) just above its limits of sensitivity (IRAS Point Source Catalogue; Schweringg k Israel 1990). Many of these are candidates for intermediate-mass stars at the tip off the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB). Their lives drawing to a close, these stars are shedding 4 -1 theirr stellar mantles at rates of up to 10~ M0 yr . Their dusty circumstellar envelopes (CSEs) obscuree the optical light from the star and become very bright IR objects. The details of the evolutionn and mass loss of AGB stars are poorly understood. The study of galactic samples off AGB stars is severely hampered by the difficulty to determine accurate distances to stars in thee Milky Way. The distance to the LMC, however, is well known and hence luminosities and mass-losss rates of AGB stars in the LMC may be determined with a high degree of accuracy. 81 1 82 2 ChapterChapter 7 Tablee 7J IRAS detected stars observed with ISO: names (LI stands for LI-LMC (Schwering & Israel 1990), TRM is from Reid et al. (1990), HV iss from Payne-Gaposchkin (1971), SP is from Sanduleak & Philip (1970) and WOH is from Westerlund et al. (1981); sources will be referenced hereafterr by their bold-faced names), ISO pointing coordinates (J2000), and references: 1: Hodge & Wright (1969); 2: Eggen (1971); 3: Wright && Hodge (1971); 4: Dachs (1972); 5: Sandage & Tammann(1974); 6: Glass (1979); 7: Humphreys (1979); 8: Blanco et al. (1980); 9: Feast el al.(1980);; 10: Bessell & Wood (1983); 11: Wood et al. (1983); 12: Rebeirot et al. (1983); 13: Prevot et al (1985); 14: Elias et al. (1985); 15: Woodett al. (1985); 16: Elias et al (1986); 17: Woodet al. (1986); 18: Reid et al. (1988); 19: Reid (1989); 20: Hughes (1989); 21: Hughes & Woodd (1990); 22: Reid et al. (1990); 23: Hughes et al. (1991); 24: Wood et al. (1992); 25: Roche et al. (1993); 26: Groenewegen et al (1995); 27:: Zijlstra et al. (1996); 28: Ritossaet al. (1996); 29: van Loon et al. (1996); 30: van Loon et al. (1997); 31: Loup et al. (1997); 32: Oestreicher (1997);; 33: van Loonet al. (1998a); 34: Groenewegen & Blommaert (1998); 35: van Loon el al. (1998b); 36: van Loon et al. (1999) LI I IRAS S TRM M HV V RAA (2000) Decll (2000) Otherr names References s IRASIRAS detected stars 1825 5 04286-6937 7 -- -- 044 28 30.3 -699 3049 -- 27.31,33 3 1844 4 04374-6831 1 -- -- 044 37 22.8 -688 25 03 -- 27,31,33 3 4 4 04407-7000 0 -- -- 044 40 28.4 -699 55 13 -- 27,31,33 3 57 7 04496-6958 8 -- -- 044 49 18.6 -699 53 14 -- 27,31,33,34,36 6 60 0 04498-6842 2 -- -- 044 49 41.4 -688 37 50 -- 27,31,33,36 6 77 7 04509-6922 2 -- -- 044 50 40.2 -699 17 33 -- 24.27.28,33,36 6 92 2 04516-6902 2 -- -- 044 51 28.4 -688 57 53 -- 24,27,33 3 121 1 04530-6916 6 -- -- 044 52 45.3 -699 1153 -- 24.27.28 8 141 1 04539-6821 1 -- -- 044 53 46.3 -688 16 12 -- 27.31,33 3 153 3 04544-6849 9 -- -- 044 54 14.4 -688 44 13 SP777 30-6.WO HH SG66 12,13,20,21,27,31 1 159 9 04545-7000 0 -- -- 044 54 09.8 -699 56 00 -- 24.27 7 181 1 04553-6825 5 -- -- 044 55 10.1 -688 20 35 WOHG64 4 16,17,19,24,25,27.29.31.33.35,36 6 198 8 04557-6753 3 -- -- 044 55 38.9 -677 49 10 -- 27,31,33 3 203 3 04559-6931 1 -- 12501 1 044 55 41.6 -699 26 25 SP777 31-20,WO HH SG097 11,12.13,20,22,27.32,33 3 297 7 05003-6712 2 -- -- 055 00 18.9 -677 08 02 -- 27.30.31,33,36 6 310 0 05009-6616 6 -- -- 055 01 03.8 -666 1240 -- 27.31,33.36 6 383 3 05042-6720 0 48 8 888 8 055 04 14.3 -677 16 17 SP777 29-33.WO HH SGI40 5.6,7,11.14.18.22.31,32 2 570 0 05112-6755 5 4 4 -- 055 11 10.1 -677 52 17 -- 22,27.31.33.36 6 571 1 05113-6739 9 24 4 -- 055 11 13.7 -677 36 35 -- 22.27.31.33 3 578 8 -- 72 2 -- 055 11 41.2 -66511 12 -- 22,27.31.33 3 612 2 05128-6728 8 43 3 2360 0 055 12 46.4 -677 19 37 SP777 37-24,WO HH SGI93 3,5,6,7,11,14,18,22,31 1 1880 0 05128-6455 5 -- -- 055 13 04.6 -644 51 40 -- 27,31,33.36 6 663 3 05148-6730 0 36 6 916 6 055 14 49.9 -677 27 19 SP777 37-35,WO HH SG204 1,2,4,6,7,11,18,22,31,32 2 793 3 05190-6748 8 20 0 -- 055 18 56.7 -677 45 06 -- 22.27,31.33 3 -- -- 88 8 -- 055 20 20.9 -666 36 00 -- 22.27,31.33,34,36 6 -- -- 45 5 -- 055 28 16.3 -677 20 55 -- 22.27.31.33 3 1157 7 05295-7121 1 -- -- 055 28 40.8 -711 19 13 -- 27,31 1 1130 0 05289-6617 7 99 9 -- 055 29 02.6 -666 1531 -- 22.27.31 1 1145 5 -- -- 5870 0 055 29 03.5 -699 06 47 SP777 47-17.WO HH SG331 9,11,20,31 1 1153 3 05294-7104 4 -- -- 055 28 47.8 -71022 29 -- 24,27.33 1 1164 4 05298-6957 7 -- -- 055 29 24.5 -699 55 14 -- 24,27,31.36 6 1177 7 05300-6651 1 79 9 -- 055 30 04.2 -666 49 23 -- 22,27.31,36 6 1238 8 05316-6604 4 101 1 -- 055 31 45.9 -666 03 51 WOHH SG374 22,27.31 1 1281 1 05327-6757 7 5 5 996 6 055 32 36.0 -677 55 08 SP777 46-59,WO HH SG388 7,11,17,18,22.31 1 1286 6 05329-6708 8 60 0 -- 055 32 52.5 -677 06 25 -- 17,22.24,26,27,31.33.36 6 1345 5 05348-7024 4 -- -- 055 34 16.1 -700 22 53 -- 27,31,33 3 1382 2 05360-6648 8 77 7 -- 055 36 03.3 -666 4647 -- 22.27,31,33 3 1506 6 05402-6956 6 -- -- 055 39 44.6 -699 55 18 -- 24,27 7 1756 6 05506-7053 3 -- -- 055 50 09.1 -700 53 12 -- 27.31.33 3 1790 0 05558-7000 0 -- -- 055 55 20.8 -70000 05 -- 27,31 1 1795 5 05568-6753 3 -- -- 055 56 38.7 -677 53 39 -- 27,31 1 Earlyy explorations of the IRAS data in combination with ground-based near-IR observations resultedd in the first identifications of mid-IR sources in the LMC with obscured AGB stars (Reidd et al.
Recommended publications
  • From Luminous Hot Stars to Starburst Galaxies
    9780521791342pre CUP/CONT July 9, 2008 11:48 Page-i FROM LUMINOUS HOT STARS TO STARBURST GALAXIES Luminous hot stars represent the extreme upper mass end of normal stellar evolution. Before exploding as supernovae, they live out their lives of only a few million years with prodigious outputs of radiation and stellar winds which dramatically affect both their evolution and environments. A detailed introduction to the topic, this book connects the astrophysics of mas- sive stars with the extremes of galaxy evolution represented by starburst phenomena. A thorough discussion of the physical and wind parameters of massive stars is pre- sented, together with considerations of their birth, evolution, and death. Hll galaxies, their connection to starburst galaxies, and the contribution of starburst phenomena to galaxy evolution through superwinds, are explored. The book concludes with the wider cosmological implications, including Population III stars, Lyman break galaxies, and gamma-ray bursts, for each of which massive stars are believed to play a crucial role. This book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics who are interested in massive stars and their role in the evolution of galaxies. Peter S. Conti is an Emeritus Professor at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astro- physics (JILA) and theAstrophysics and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Colorado. Paul A. Crowther is a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield. Claus Leitherer is an Astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore. 9780521791342pre CUP/CONT July 9, 2008 11:48 Page-ii Cambridge Astrophysics Series Series editors: Andrew King, Douglas Lin, Stephen Maran, Jim Pringle and Martin Ward Titles available in the series 10.
    [Show full text]
  • The Luminosities of Cool Supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, and the Humphreys-Davidson Limit Revisited
    This is a repository copy of The luminosities of cool supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, and the Humphreys-Davidson limit revisited. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/130065/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Davies, B., Crowther, P.A. and Beasor, E.R. (2018) The luminosities of cool supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, and the Humphreys-Davidson limit revisited. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 478 (3). pp. 3138-3148. ISSN 0035-8711 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1302 This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record Ben Davies, Paul A Crowther, Emma R Beasor, The luminosities of cool supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, and the Humphreys–Davidson limit revisited, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 478, Issue 3, August 2018, Pages 3138–3148, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty1302 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request.
    [Show full text]
  • Information to Users
    A quantitative figure-of-merit approach for optimization of an unmanned Mars Sample Return mission Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Preiss, Bruce Kenneth, 1964- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 06/10/2021 06:30:51 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278010 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book.
    [Show full text]
  • Information to Users
    A quantitative figure-of-merit approach for optimization of an unmanned Mars Sample Return mission Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Preiss, Bruce Kenneth, 1964- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 11/10/2021 06:15:49 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278010 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book.
    [Show full text]
  • The Luminosities of Cool Supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, and the Humphreys-Davidson Limit Revisited
    MNRAS 000, 1–10 (2017) Preprint 19 April 2018 Compiled using MNRAS LATEX style file v3.0 The luminosities of cool supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, and the Humphreys-Davidson limit revisited Ben Davies,1?, Paul A. Crowther2 and Emma R. Beasor1 1Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Science Park ic2, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF, UK 2Dept of Physics & Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Rd, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK Accepted XXX. Received YYY; in original form ZZZ ABSTRACT The empirical upper luminosity boundary Lmax of cool supergiants, often referred to as the Humphreys-Davidson limit, is thought to encode information on the general mass-loss be- haviour of massive stars. Further, it delineates the boundary at which single stars will end their lives stripped of their hydrogen-rich envelope, which in turn is a key factor in the rela- tive rates of Type-II to Type-Ibc supernovae from single star channels. In this paper we have revisited the issue of Lmax by studying the luminosity distributions of cool supergiants (SGs) in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC). We assemble samples of cool SGs in each galaxy which are highly-complete above log L/L =5.0, and determine their spectral energy distributions from the optical to the mid-infrared using modern multi-wavelength sur- vey data. We show that in both cases Lmax appears to be lower than previously quoted, and is in the region of log L/L =5.5. There is no evidence for Lmax being higher in the SMC than in the LMC, as would be expected if metallicity-dependent winds were the dominant factor in the stripping of stellar envelopes.
    [Show full text]
  • Descargar (6,72
    UNIVERSO LQ NÚMERO 2 AÑO DE 2012 Revista trimestral gratuita de Latinquasar.org TECNOLOGÍA ESPACIAL Japón en el espacio CIELO AUSTRAL La gran nube de Magallanes HISTORIA DE LA ASTRONOMÍA Los Mayas y el fin del mundo ASTROBIOLOGÍA Bioquímicas alternativas ASTROBRICOLAJE Montura Eq6, toma de contacto SISTEMA SOLAR Y CUERPOS MENORES Lovejoy ASTROCACHARROS NUESTRAS FOTOGRAFÍAS EFEMÉRIDES COMETAS CALENDARIO DE LANZAMIENTOS CRÓNICAS EN ESTE NÚMERO ENCONTRARÁS TECNOLOGÍA ESPACIAL Japón en el espacio...........................................................................................................Página 3 CALENDARIO DE LANZAMIENTOS Calendario de lanzamientos..............................................................................................Página 9 SISTEMA SOLAR Y CUERPOS MENORES Cometas de Enero,Febrero y Marzo...............................................................................Página 18 SISTEMA SOLAR Y CUERPOS MENORES II Cometa Lovejoy................................................................................................................Página 26 CIELO AUSTRAL La gran nube de Magallanes...........................................................................................Página 37 HISTORIA DE LA ASTRONOMÍA Los conocimientos astronómicos de los Mayas y el fenómeno 2012........................Página 41 ASTROBIOLOGÍA Bioquímicas hipotéticas.................................................................................................Página 47 ASTROBRICOLAJE Eq6, más de diez años acompañandonos en las frías
    [Show full text]
  • Effects of Rotation Arund the Axis on the Stars, Galaxy and Rotation of Universe* Weitter Duckss1
    Effects of Rotation Arund the Axis on the Stars, Galaxy and Rotation of Universe* Weitter Duckss1 1Independent Researcher, Zadar, Croatia *Project: https://www.svemir-ipaksevrti.com/Universe-and-rotation.html; (https://www.svemir-ipaksevrti.com/) Abstract: The article analyzes the blueshift of the objects, through realized measurements of galaxies, mergers and collisions of galaxies and clusters of galaxies and measurements of different galactic speeds, where the closer galaxies move faster than the significantly more distant ones. The clusters of galaxies are analyzed through their non-zero value rotations and gravitational connection of objects inside a cluster, supercluster or a group of galaxies. The constant growth of objects and systems is visible through the constant influx of space material to Earth and other objects inside our system, through percussive craters, scattered around the system, collisions and mergers of objects, galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Atom and its formation, joining into pairs, growth and disintegration are analyzed through atoms of the same values of structure, different aggregate states and contiguous atoms of different aggregate states. The disintegration of complex atoms is followed with the temperature increase above the boiling point of atoms and compounds. The effects of rotation around an axis are analyzed from the small objects through stars, galaxies, superclusters and to the rotation of Universe. The objects' speeds of rotation and their effects are analyzed through the formation and appearance of a system (the formation of orbits, the asteroid belt, gas disk, the appearance of galaxies), its influence on temperature, surface gravity, the force of a magnetic field, the size of a radius.
    [Show full text]
  • The Intermediate Luminosity Optical Transient Sn 2010Da: the Progenitor, Eruption, and Aftermath of a Peculiar Supergiant High-Mass X-Ray Binary V
    The Astrophysical Journal, 830:11 (23pp), 2016 October 10 doi:10.3847/0004-637X/830/1/11 © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. THE INTERMEDIATE LUMINOSITY OPTICAL TRANSIENT SN 2010DA: THE PROGENITOR, ERUPTION, AND AFTERMATH OF A PECULIAR SUPERGIANT HIGH-MASS X-RAY BINARY V. A. Villar1,8, E. Berger1, R. Chornock2, R. Margutti3, T. Laskar4,9, P. J. Brown5, P. K. Blanchard1,8, I. Czekala1, R. Lunnan6, and M. T. Reynolds7 1 Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; [email protected] 2 Astrophysical Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 251B Clippinger Lab, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA 3 New York University, Physics department, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA 4 Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA 5 George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics & Astronomy, Texas A. & M. University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, USA 6 Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 7 Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1085 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA Received 2016 May 24; revised 2016 July 7; accepted 2016 July 21; published 2016 October 3 ABSTRACT We present optical spectroscopy, ultraviolet-to-infrared imaging,and X-ray observations of the intermediate luminosity optical transient (ILOT) SN 2010da in NGC 300 (d = 1.86 Mpc) spanning from −6to+6 years relative to the time of outburst in 2010. Based on the light-curve and multi-epoch spectral energy distributions of SN 2010da, we conclude that the progenitor of SN 2010da is a ≈10–12 Me yellow supergiant possibly transitioning into a blue-loop phase.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatially Resolved Dusty Torus Toward the Red Supergiant WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud,
    A&A 484, 371–379 (2008) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200809469 & c ESO 2008 Astrophysics Spatially resolved dusty torus toward the red supergiant WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, K. Ohnaka1,T.Driebe1, K.-H. Hofmann1,G.Weigelt1, and M. Wittkowski2 1 Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany Received 28 January 2008 / Accepted 14 March 2008 ABSTRACT Aims. We present N-band spectro-interferometric observations of the red supergiant WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) 5 using MIDI at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). While the very high luminosity (∼5 × 10 L) previously estimated for WOH G64 suggests that it is a very massive star with an initial mass of ∼40 M, its low effective temperature (∼3200 K) is in serious disagreement with the current stellar evolution theory. Methods. WOH G64 was observed with VLTI/MIDI using the UT2-UT3 and UT3-UT4 baseline configurations. Results. The dust envelope around WOH G64 has been spatially resolved with a baseline of ∼60 m – the first MIDI observations to resolve an individual stellar source in an extragalactic system. The observed N-band visibilities show a slight decrease from 8 to ∼10 µm and a gradual increase longward of ∼10 µm, reflecting the 10 µm silicate feature in self-absorption. This translates into a steep increase of the uniform-disk diameter from 8 to 10 µm (from 18 to 26 mas) and a roughly constant diameter above 10 µm.
    [Show full text]
  • Close-Up of a Dying Heavyweight 27 May 2008
    Close-up of a dying heavyweight 27 May 2008 A straightforward approach to tackle this issue is to take a very close look at the envelope surrounding the stars. However, this is easier said than done because of the great distances to these stars. Even with the world's largest optical telescopes with 8 - 10 m diameters, it is still difficult to take a close-up shot of the envelopes around the aging stars closest to Earth, let alone those outside our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Using two or more telescopes combined as an "interferometer" provides a way to achieve much Infrared image of the Large Magellanic Cloud, our next higher resolving power than with an individual neighbour galaxy at a distance of 160,000 light years, telescope alone. The ESO's Very Large Telescope and the star WOH G64. Image: NASA, Spitzer Satellite, Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile is one of the largest SAGE Team interferometers, combining two or three 8.2-m telescopes. A team of researchers at MPIfR and ESO used the VLTI instrument MIDI, operating at mid-infrared wavelengths, which is ideal for A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute observing the thermal radiation from the dust for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn and envelope heated by the star. European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching near Munich have for the first time taken The resolving power they obtained is so high that it a close-up of an individual dying supergiant star in would recognize a tennis ball placed on top of the our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin from Bonn.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatially Resolved Dusty Torus Toward the Red Supergiant WOH G64 in The
    Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. 09469 c ESO 2018 November 16, 2018 Spatially resolved dusty torus toward the red supergiant WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud ⋆,⋆⋆ K. Ohnaka1, T. Driebe1, K.-H. Hofmann1, G. Weigelt1, and M. Wittkowski2 1 Max-Planck-Institut f¨ur Radioastronomie, Auf dem H¨ugel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany Received / Accepted ABSTRACT Aims. We present N-band spectro-interferometric observations of the red supergiant WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using MIDI at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). While the very high luminosity (∼ 5 × 105 L⊙) previously estimated for WOH G64 suggests that it is a very massive star with an initial mass of ∼40 M⊙, its low effective temperature (∼3200 K) is in serious disagreement with the current stellar evolution theory. Methods. WOH G64 was observed with VLTI/MIDI using the UT2-UT3 and UT3-UT4 baseline configurations. Results. The dust envelope around WOH G64 has been spatially resolved with a baseline of ∼60 m—the first MIDI observations to resolve an individual stellar source in an extragalactic system. The observed N-band visibilities show a slight decrease from 8 to ∼10 µm and a gradual increase longward of ∼10 µm, reflecting the 10 µm silicate feature in self-absorption. This translates into a steep increase of the uniform-disk diameter from 8 to 10 µm (from 18 to 26 mas) and a roughly constant diameter above 10 µm. The visibilities measured at four position angles differing by ∼60◦ but at approximately the same baseline length (∼60 m) do not show a noticeable difference, suggesting that the object appears nearly centrosymmetric.
    [Show full text]
  • Keiichi Ohnaka , Thomas Driebe , Karl-Heinz Hofmann , Gerd Weigelt
    Spatially Resolved Dusty Torus Toward the LMC Red Supergiant WOH G64 “Behemoth Has a Thick Belt” WOH G64, Artist Impression (ESO Press Release) Keiichi Ohnaka1, Thomas Driebe1, Karl-Heinz Hofmann1, Gerd Weigelt1, Markus Wittkowski2 1: Max-Planck-Institut fur¨ Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany, 2: European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany Abstract Observational Results: Interferometry and Spectroscopy We present mid-IR long-baseline interferometric observations of the LMC red super- Figure 4 shows the observed SED and 10 μm visibilities of WOH G64. Our major observational giant WOH G64 with MIDI at the ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). findings are: Our MIDI observations of WOH G64 are the first VLTI observations to spatially resolve • WOH G64 was spatially resolved (i.e., visibilities < 1, Fig. 4c). This is the first VLTI obser- an individual stellar source in an extragalactic system. Our 2-D radiative transfer model- vations to spatially resolve an individual star in an extragalactic system. The angular diameter ing reveals the presence of a geometrically and optically thick torus seen nearly pole-on. (Fig. 4d, uniform-disk fitting) increases from ∼15 to 23 mas between 8 and 10 μm and is This model brings WOH G64 in much better agreement with the current evolutionary roughly constant above 10 μm. tracks for a 25 M star (about a half of the previous estimate of 40 M) and solves the • serious discrepancy between theory and observation which existed for this object. Visibilities (and angular sizes) measured at 4 position angles do not show a noticeable differ- ence (Figs. 4c,d), suggesting that the object appears nearly centrosymmetric.
    [Show full text]