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Register a new userdelta Cen: a new binary Be star detected by VLTI/AMBER spectro-interferometry
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Anthony Meilland
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We study the Be star $delta$ Cen circumstellar disk using long-baseline interferometry which is the only observing technique capable of resolving spatially and spectroscopically objects smaller than 5 mas in the H and K b and. We used the VLTI/AMBER instrument on January 6, 8, and 9, 2008, in the H and K bands to complete low (35) and medium (150 0) spectral resolution observations. We detected an oscillation in the visibility curve plotted as a function of the spatial frequency which is a clear signat ure of a companion around $delta$ Cen. Our best-fit soltution infers a binary separation of 68.7 mas, a companion flux co ntribution in the K band of about 7% of the total flux, a PA of 117.5 $degr$, and an envelope flux around the Be primary that contributes up to about 50 % of the total flux, in agreement with our Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fit. The e nvelope size is estimated to be 1.6 mas in K but no departure from spherical symmetry is detected.
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We add four warmer late-type supergiants to our previous spectro-interferometric studies of red giants and supergiants. V766 Cen (=HR 5171 A) is found to be a high-luminosity log(L/L_sun)=5.8+-0.4 source of Teff 4290+-760 K and radius 1490+-540 Rsun located close to both the Hayashi and Eddington limits; this source is consistent with a 40 Msun evolutionary track without rotation and current mass 27-36 Msun. It exhibits NaI in emission arising from a shell of radius 1.5 Rphot and a photocenter displacement of about 0.1 Rphot. V766 Cen shows strong extended molecular (CO) layers and a dusty circumstellar background component. This suggest an optically thick pseudo-photosphere at about 1.5 Rphot at the onset of the wind. V766 Cen is a red supergiant located close to the Hayashi limit instead of a yellow hypergiant already evolving back toward warmer Teff as previously discussed. The stars sigma Oph, BM Sco, and HD 206859 are found to have lower luminosities of about log(L/Lsun)=3.4-3.5 and Teff of 3900-5300 K, corresponding to 5-9 Msun tracks. They do not show extended molecular layers as observed for higher luminosity red supergiants of our sample. BM Sco shows an unusually strong contribution by an over-resolved circumstellar dust component. These stars are more likely high-mass red giants instead of red supergiants. This leaves us with an unsampled locus in the HR diagram corresponding to luminosities log(L/Lsun)~3.8-4.8 or masses 10-13 Msun, possibly corresponding to the mass region where stars explode as type II-P supernovae during the RSG stage. Our previously found relation of increasing strength of extended molecular layers with increasing luminosities is now confirmed to extend to double our previous luminosities and up to the Eddington limit. This might further point to steadily increasing radiative winds with increasing luminosity. [Abridged]
The pre-main sequence (PMS) star ABDorA is the main component of the quadruple system ABDoradus. The precise determination of the mass and photometry of the close companion to ABDorA, ABDorC, has provided an important benchmark for calibration of theoretical evolutionary models of low-mass stars. The limiting factor to the precision of this calibration is the age of the system, as both the mass and luminosity of ABDorA and C are well monitored by other ongoing programs. In this paper we present VLTI/AMBER observations of ABDorA which provide a direct measurement of the size of this star, 0.96+/-0.06 Rsun. The latter estimate, combined with other fundamental parameters also measured for this star, allows a precise test of PMS evolutionary models using both H-R diagrams and mass-radius relationships. We have found that our radius measurement is larger than that predicted by the models, which we interpret as an evidence of the oversizing produced by the strong magnetic activity of ABDorA. Considering, at least partially, this magnetic effect, theoretical isochrones have been used to derive constraints to the age of ABDorA, favouring an age about 40-50 Myr for this system. Older ages are not completely excluded by our data.
We present near-infrared H and K-band spectro-interferometric observations of the gaseous disk around the primary Be star in the delta Sco binary system, obtained in 2007 (between periastron passages in 2000 and 2011). Observations using the CHARA/MIRC instrument at H-band resolve an elongated disk with a Gaussian FWHM 1.18 x 0.91 mas. Using the Keck Interferometer, the source of the K-band continuum emission is only marginally spatially resolved, and consequently we estimate a relatively uncertain K-band continuum disk FWHM of 0.7 +/- 0.3 mas. Line emission on the other hand, He1 (2.0583 micron) and Br gamma (2.1657 micron), is clearly detected, with about 10% lower visibilities than those of the continuum. When taking into account the continuum/line flux ratio this translates into much larger sizes for the line emission regions: 2.2 +/- 0.4 mas and 1.9 +/- 0.3 mas for He1 and Br gamma respectively. Our KI data also reveal a relatively flat spectral differential phase response, ruling out significant off-center emission. We expect these new measurements will help constrain dynamical models being actively developed in order to explain the disk formation process in the delta Sco system and Be stars in general.
Massive stars deeply influence their surroundings by their luminosity and the injection of kinetic energy. So far, they have mostly been studied with spatially unresolved observations, although evidence of geometrical complexity of their wind are numerous. Interferometry can provide spatially resolved observations of massive stars and their immediate vicinity. Specific geometries (disks, jets, latitude-dependent winds) can be probed by this technique. The first observation of a Wolf-Rayet (WR) star (gamma^2 Vel) with the AMBER/VLTI instrument yielded to a re-evaluation of its distance and an improved characterization of the stellar components, from a very limited data-set. This motivated our team to increase the number of WR targets observed with AMBER. We present here new preliminary results that encompass several spectral types, ranging from early WN to evolved dusty WC. We present unpublished data on WR79a, a massive star probably at the boundary between the O and Wolf- Rayet type, evidencing some Wolf-Rayet broad emission lines from an optically thin wind. We also present new data obtained on gamma^2 Vel that can be compared to the up-to-date interferometry-based orbital parameters from North et al. (2007). We discuss the presence of a wind-wind collision zone in the system and provide preliminary analysis suggesting the presence of such a structure in the data. Then, we present data obtained on 2 dusty Wolf-Rayet stars: WR48a-b and WR118, the latter exhibiting some clues of a pinwheel-like structure from the visibility variations.
Context. The star HD 87643, exhibiting the B[e] phenomenon, has one of the most extreme infrared excesses for this object class. It harbours a large amount of both hot and cold dust, and is surrounded by an extended reflection nebula. Aims. One of our major goals was to investigate the presence of a companion in HD87643. In addition, the presence of close dusty material was tested through a combination of multi-wavelength high spatial 5Aresolution observations. Methods. We observed HD 87643 with high spatial resolution techniques, using the near-IR AMBER/VLTI interferometer with baselines ranging from 60 m to 130 m and the mid-IR MIDI/VLTI interferometer with baselines ranging from 25 m to 65 m. These observations are complemented by NACO/VLT adaptive-optics-corrected images in the K and L-bands, ESO-2.2m optical Wide-Field Imager large-scale images in the B, V and R-bands, Results. We report the direct detection of a companion to HD 87643 by means of image synthesis using the AMBER/VLTI instrument. The presence of the companion is confirmed by the MIDI and NACO data, although with a lower confidence. The companion is separated by ~ 34 mas with a roughly north-south orientation. The period must be large (several tens of years) and hence the orbital parameters are not determined yet. Binarity with high eccentricity might be the key to interpreting the extreme characteristics of this system, namely a dusty circumstellar envelope around the primary, a compact dust nebulosity around the binary system and a complex extended nebula witnessing past violent ejections.
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