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Register a new userAtomium: The astounding complexity of the near circumstellar environment of the M-type AGB star R Hydrae. I. Morpho-kinematical interpretation of CO and SiO emission
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Evolved low- to intermediate-mass stars are known to shed their gaseous envelope into a large, dusty, molecule-rich circumstellar nebula which typically develops a high degree of structural complexity. Most of the large-scale, spatially correlated structures in the nebula are thought to originate from the interaction of the stellar wind with a companion. As part of the Atomium large programme, we observed the M-type asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star R Hydrae with ALMA. The morphology of the inner wind of R Hya, which has a known companion at ~3500 au, was determined from maps of CO and SiO obtained at high angular resolution. A map of the CO emission reveals a multi-layered structure consisting of a large elliptical feature at an angular scale of ~10 that is oriented along the north-south axis. The wind morphology within the elliptical feature is dominated by two hollow bubbles. The bubbles are on opposite sides of the AGB star and lie along an axis with a position angle of ~115 deg. Both bubbles are offset from the central star, and their appearance in the SiO channel maps indicates that they might be shock waves travelling through the AGB wind. An estimate of the dynamical age of the bubbles yields an age of the order of 100 yr, which is in agreement with the previously proposed elapsed time since the star last underwent a thermal pulse. When the CO and SiO emission is examined on subarcsecond angular scales, there is evidence for an inclined, differentially rotating equatorial density enhancement, strongly suggesting the presence of a second nearby companion. The position angle of the major axis of this disc is ~70 deg in the plane of the sky. We tentatively estimate that a lower limit on the mass of the nearby companion is ~0.65 Msol on the basis of the highest measured speeds in the disc and the location of its inner rim at ~6 au from the AGB star.
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Our current insights into the circumstellar chemistry of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are largely based on studies of carbon-rich stars and stars with high mass-loss rates. In order to expand the current molecular inventory of evolved stars we present a spectral scan of the nearby, oxygen-rich star R Dor, a star with a low mass-loss rate ($sim2times10^{-7}M_{odot}$/yr). We carried out a spectral scan in the frequency ranges 159.0-321.5GHz and 338.5-368.5 GHz (wavelength range 0.8-1.9mm) using the SEPIA/Band-5 and SHeFI instruments on the APEX telescope and we compare it to previous surveys, including one of the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tau, which has a high mass-loss rate ($sim5times10^{-6}M_{odot}$/yr). The spectrum of R Dor is dominated by emission lines of SO$_2$ and the different isotopologues of SiO. We also detect CO, H$_2$O, HCN, CN, PO, PN, SO, and tentatively TiO$_2$, AlO, and NaCl. Sixteen out of approximately 320 spectral features remain unidentified. Among these is a strong but previously unknown maser at 354.2 GHz, which we suggest could pertain to H$_2$SiO, silanone. With the exception of one, none of these unidentified lines are found in a similarly sensitive survey of IK Tau performed with the IRAM 30m telescope. We present radiative transfer models for five isotopologues of SiO ($^{28}$SiO, $^{29}$SiO, $^{30}$SiO, Si$^{17}$O, Si$^{18}$O), providing constraints on their fractional abundance and radial extent. We derive isotopic ratios for C, O, Si, and S and estimate that R Dor likely had an initial mass in the range 1.3-1.6$M_{odot}$, in agreement with earlier findings based on models of H$_2$O line emission. From the presence of spectral features recurring in many of the measured thermal and maser emission lines we tentatively identify up to five kinematical components in the outflow of R Dor, indicating deviations from a smooth, spherical wind.
We analyse new ALMA observations of the $^{29}$SiO ($ u$=0, $J$=8$-$7) and SO$_2$($ u$=0, $34_{3,31}$$-$$34_{2,32}$) line emissions of the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of the oxygen-rich AGB star R Dor. With a spatial resolution of $sim$2.3 au, they cover distances below $sim$30 au from the star providing a link between earlier observations and clarifying some open issues. The main conclusions are: 1) Rotation is confined below $sim$15 au from the star, with velocity reaching a maximum below 10 au and morphology showing no significant disc-like flattening. 2) In the south-eastern quadrant, a large Doppler velocity gas stream is studied in more detail than previously possible and its possible association with an evaporating planetary companion is questioned. 3) A crude evaluation of the respective contributions of rotation, expansion and turbulence to the morpho-kinematics is presented. Significant line broadening occurs below $sim$12 au from the star and causes the presence of high Doppler velocity components near the line of sight pointing to the centre of the star. 4) Strong absorption of the continuum emission of the stellar disc and its immediate dusty environment is observed to extend beyond the disc in the form of self-absorption. The presence of a cold SiO layer extending up to some 60 au from the star is shown to be the cause. 5) Line emissions from SO, $^{28}$SiO, CO and HCN molecules are used to probe the CSE up to some 100 au from the star and reveal the presence of two broad back-to-back outflows, the morphology of which is studied in finer detail than in earlier work.
Silicon monoxide maser emission has been detected in the circumstellar envelopes of many evolved stars in various vibrationally-excited rotational transitions. It is considered a good tracer of the wind dynamics close to the photosphere of the star. We have investigated the polarization morphology in the circumstellar envelope of an AGB star, R Cas. We mapped the linear and circular polarization of SiO masers in the v=1, J=1-0 transition. The linear polarization is typically a few tens of percent while the circular polarization is a few percent. The fractional polarization tends to be higher for emission of lower total intensity. We found that, in some isolated features the fractional linear polarization appears to exceed 100%. We found the Faraday rotation is not negligible but is ~15 deg., which could produce small scale structure in polarized emission whilst total intensity is smoother and partly resolved out. The polarization angles vary considerably from feature to feature but there is a tendency to favour the directions parallel or perpendicular to the radial direction with respect to the star. In some features, the polarization angle abruptly flips 90 deg. We found that our data are in the regime where the model of Goldreich et al (1973) can be applied and the polarization angle flip is caused when the magnetic field is at close to 55 deg. to the line of sight. The polarization angle configuration is consistent with a radial magnetic field although other configurations are not excluded.
(abridged) Our aim is to determine the radial abundance profile of SiO and HCN throughout the stellar outflow of R Dor, an oxygen-rich AGB star with a low mass-loss rate. We have analysed molecular transitions of CO, SiO, and HCN measured with the APEX telescope and all three instruments on the Herschel Space Observatory, together with literature data. Photometric data and the infrared spectrum measured by ISO-SWS were used to constrain the dust component of the outflow. Using both continuum and line radiative transfer methods, a physical envelope model of both gas and dust was established. We have performed an analysis of the SiO and HCN molecular transitions in order to calculate their abundances. We have obtained an envelope model that describes the dust and the gas in the outflow, and determined the abundance of SiO and HCN throughout the region of the outflow probed by our molecular data. For SiO, we find that the initial abundance lies between $5.5 times 10^{-5}$ and $6.0 times 10^{-5}$ w.r.t. H$_2$. The abundance profile is constant up to $60 pm 10 R_*$, after which it declines following a Gaussian profile with an $e$-folding radius of $3.5 pm 0.5 times 10^{13}$ cm. For HCN, we find an initial abundance of $5.0 times 10^{-7}$ w.r.t. H$_2$. The Gaussian profile that describes the decline starts at the stellar surface and has an $e$-folding radius $r_e$ of $1.85 pm 0.05 times 10^{15}$ cm. We cannot to unambiguously identify the mechanism by which SiO is destroyed at $60 pm 10 R_*$. The initial abundances found are larger than previously determined (except for one previous study on SiO), which might be due to the inclusion of higher-$J$ transitions. The difference in abundance for SiO and HCN compared to high mass-loss rate Mira star IK Tau might be due to different pulsation characteristics of the central star and/or a difference in dust condensation physics.
ALMA observations of CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emissions of the circumstellar envelope of EP Aqr, an oxygen-rich AGB star, are reported. A thorough analysis of their properties is presented using an original method based on the separation of the data-cube into a low velocity component associated with an equatorial outflow and a faster component associated with a bipolar outflow. A number of important and new results are obtained concerning the distribution in space of the effective emissivity, the temperature, the density and the flux of matter. A mass loss rate of (1.6$pm$0.4)10$^{-7}$ solar masses per year is measured. The main parameters defining the morphology and kinematics of the envelope are evaluated and uncertainties inherent to de-projection are critically discussed. Detailed properties of the equatorial region of the envelope are presented including a measurement of the line width and a precise description of the observed inhomogeneity of both morphology and kinematics. In particular, in addition to the presence of a previously observed spiral enhancement of the morphology at very small Doppler velocities, a similarly significant but uncorrelated circular enhancement of the expansion velocity is revealed, both close to the limit of sensitivity. The results of the analysis place significant constraints on the parameters of models proposing descriptions of the mass loss mechanism, but cannot choose among them with confidence.
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