No Arabic abstract
We report the discovery of a spiral-like nebula with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the results of optical spectroscopy of its associated star TYC 8606-2025-1 with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). We find that TYC 8606-2025-1 is a G8 III star of $approx3$ M$_odot$, showing a carbon depletion by a factor of two and a nitrogen enhancement by a factor of three. We also derived an excess of s-process elements, most strongly for barium, which is a factor of three overabundant, indicating that TYC 8606-2025-1 is a mild barium star. We thereby add a new member to the small group of barium stars with circumstellar nebulae. Our radial velocity measurements indicate that TYC 8606-2025-1 has an unseen binary companion. The advanced evolutionary stage of TYC 8606-2025-1, together with the presence of a circumstellar nebula, implies an initial mass of the companion of also about 3 M$_odot$. We conclude that the infrared nebula, due to its spiral shape, and because it has no optical counterpart, was ejected by the companion as a consequence of a very late thermal pulse, during about one orbital rotation.
WeBo 1 (PN G135.6+01.0), a previously unrecognized planetary nebula with a remarkable thin-ring morphology, was discovered serendipitously on Digitized Sky Survey images. The central star is found to be a late-type giant with overabundances of carbon and s-process elements. The giant is chromospherically active and photometrically variable, with a probable period of 4.7 days; this suggests that the star is spotted, and that 4.7 days is its rotation period. We propose a scenario in which one component of a binary system became an AGB star with a dense stellar wind enriched in C and s-process elements; a portion of the wind was accreted by the companion, contaminating its atmosphere and spinning up its rotation. The AGB star has now become a hot subdwarf, leaving the optical companion as a freshly contaminated barium star inside an ionized planetary nebula.
SwSt 1 (PN G001.5-06.7) is a bright and compact planetary nebula containing a late [WC]-type central star. Previous studies suggested that the nebular and stellar lines are slowly changing with time. We studied new and archival optical and ultraviolet spectra of the object. The [OIII] 4959 and 5007 A to $mathrm{H}beta$ line flux ratios decreased between about 1976 and 1997/2015. The stellar spectrum also shows changes between these epochs. We modeled the stellar and nebular spectra observed at different epochs. The analyses indicate a drop of the stellar temperature from about 42 kK to 40.5 kK between 1976 and 1993. We do not detect significant changes between 1993 and 2015. The observations show that the star performed a loop in the H-R diagram. This is possible when a shell source is activated during its post-AGB evolution. We infer that a late thermal pulse (LTP) experienced by a massive post-AGB star can explain the evolution of the central star. Such a star does not expand significantly as the result of the LTP and does not became a born-again red giant. However, the released energy can remove the tiny H envelope of the star.
Aims : The hydrogen-deficient supergiants known as R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars might be the result of a double-degenerate merger of two white dwarfs (WDs), or a final helium shell flash in a planetary nebula central star. In this context, any information on the geometry of their circumstellar environment and, in particular, the potential detection of elongated structures, is of great importance. Methods : We obtained near-IR observations of V854 Cen with the AMBER recombiner located at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) array with the compact array (B$leq$35m) in 2013 and the long array (B$leq$140m) in 2014. At each time, V854 Cen was at maximum light. The $H$- and $K$-band continua were investigated by means of spectrally dependant geometric models. These data were supplemented with mid-IR VISIR/VLT images. Results : A dusty slightly elongated over density is discovered both in the $H$- and $K$-band images. With the compact array, the central star is unresolved ($Thetaleq2.5$,mas), but a flattened dusty environment of $8 times 11$ mas is discovered whose flux increases from about $sim$20% in the $H$ band to reach about $sim$50% at 2.3$micron$, which indicates hot (T$sim$1500,K) dust in the close vicinity of the star. The major axis is oriented at a position angle (P.A.) of 126$pm$29$deg$. Adding the long-array configuration dataset provides tighter constraints on the star diameter ($Thetaleq1.0$ mas), a slight increase of the overdensity to $12 times 15$ mas and a consistent P.A. of 133$pm$49$deg$. The closure phases, sensitive to asymmetries, are null and compatible with a centro-symmetric, unperturbed environment excluding point sources at the level of 3% of the total flux in 2013 and 2014. The VISIR images exhibit a flattened aspect ratio at the 15-20% level at larger distances ($sim$1$arcsec$) with a position angle of 92$pm$19$deg$, marginally consistent with the interferometric observations. Conclusions : This is the first time that a moderately elongated structure has been observed around an RCB star. These observations confirm the numerous suggestions for a bipolar structure proposed for this star in the literature, which were mainly based on polarimetric and spectroscopic observations.
High signal to noise, high resolution spectra were obtained for a sample of normal, mild barium, and barium giants. Atmospheric parameters were determined from the FeI and FeII lines. Abundances for Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd, were determined from equivalent widths and model atmospheres in a differential analysis, with the red giant Eps Vir as the standard star. The different levels of s-process overabundances of barium and mild barium stars were earlier suggested to be related to the stellar metallicity. Contrary to this suggestion, we found in this work no evidence of barium and mild barium to having different range in metallicity. However, comparing the ratio of abundances of heavy to light s-process elements, we found some evidence that they do not share the same neutron exposure parameter. The exact mechanism controlling this difference is still not clear. As a by-product of this analysis we identify two normal red giants misclassified as mild barium stars. The relevance of this finding is discussed. Concerning the suggested nucleosynthetic effects possibly related to the s-process, for elements like Cu, Mn, V and Sc, we found no evidence for an anomalous behavior in any of the s-process enriched stars analyzed here. However, further work is still needed since a clear [Cu/Fe] vs. [Ba/H] anticorrelation exists for other s-process enriched objects.
We imaged two starless molecular cloud cores, TUKH083 and TUKH122, in the Orion A giant molecular cloud in the CCS and ammonia (NH$_3$) emission with the Very Large Array. TUKH122 contains one NH$_3$ core TUKH122-n, which is elongated and has a smooth oval boundary. Where observed, the CCS emission surrounds the NH$_3$ core. This configuration resembles that of the N$_2$H$^+$ and CCS distribution in the Taurus starless core L1544, a well-studied example of a dense prestellar core exhibiting infall motions. The linewidth of TUKH122-n is narrow (0.20 km s$^{-1}$) in the NH$_3$ emission line and therefore dominated by thermal motions. The smooth oval shape of the core boundary and narrow linewidth in NH$_3$ seem to imply that TUKH122-n is dynamically relaxed and quiescent. TUKH122-n is similar to L1544 in the kinetic temperature (10 K), linear size (0.03 pc), and virial mass ($sim$ 2 $M_{odot}$). Our results strongly suggest that TUKH122-n is on the verge of star formation. TUKH122-n is embedded in the 0.2 pc massive (virial mass $sim$ 30 $M_{odot}$) turbulent parent core, while the L1544 NH$_3$ core is embedded in the 0.2 pc less-massive (virial mass $sim$ 10 $M_{odot}$) thermal parent core. TUKH083 shows complicated distribution in NH$_3$, but was not detected in CCS. The CCS emission toward TUKH083 appears to be extended, and is resolved out in our interferometric observations.