HI Observations of the Asymptotic Giant Branch Star X Herculis: Discovery of an Extended Circumstellar Wake Superposed on a Compact High-Velocity Cloud

We report HI 21-cm line observations of the AGB star X Her obtained with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and the Very Large Array (VLA). We have detected HI emission totaling M_HI=2.1e-03 M_sun associated with the circumstellar envelope of the star. The HI distribution exhibits a head-tail morphology, similar to those previously observed around Mira and RS Cnc. The tail extends ~6.0 (0.24 pc) in the plane of the sky, along the direction of the stars space motion. We also detect a velocity gradient of ~6.5 km/s across the envelope, consistent with the HI tracing a turbulent wake that arises from the motion of a mass-losing star through the ISM. GBT mapping of a 2x2deg region around X Her reveals that the star lies (in projection) near the periphery of a much larger HI cloud that also exhibits signatures of ISM interaction. The properties of the cloud are consistent with those of compact high-velocity clouds. Using CO observations, we have placed an upper limit on its molecular gas content of N_H2<1.3e20 cm^-2. Although the distance to the cloud is poorly constrained, the probability of a chance coincidence in position, velocity, and apparent position angle of space motion between X Her and the cloud is extremely small, suggesting a possible physical association. However, the large HI mass of the cloud (~>2.4~M_sun) and the blueshift of its mean velocity relative to X Her are inconsistent with an origin tied directly to stellar ejection. (abridged)

Circumstellar HI and CO around the carbon stars V1942 Sgr and V CrB

Context. The majority of stars that leave the main sequence are undergoing extensive mass loss, in particular during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of evolution. Observations show that the rate at which this phenomenon develops differs highly from source to source, so that the time-integrated mass loss as a function of the initial conditions (mass, metallicity, etc.) and of the stage of evolution is presently not well understood. Aims. We are investigating the mass loss history of AGB stars by observing the molecular and atomic emissions of their circumstellar envelopes. Methods. In this work we have selected two stars that are on the thermally pulsing phase of the AGB (TP-AGB) and for which high quality data in the CO rotation lines and in the atomic hydrogen line at 21 cm could be obained. Results. V1942 Sgr, a carbon star of the Irregular variability type, shows a complex CO line profile that may originate from a long-lived wind at a rate of ~ 10^-7 Msol/yr, and from a young (< 10^4 years) fast outflow at a rate of ~ 5 10^-7 Msol/yr. Intense HI emission indicates a detached shell with 0.044 Msol of hydrogen. This shell probably results from the slowing-down, by surrounding matter, of the same long-lived wind observed in CO that has been active during ~ 6 10^5 years. On the other hand, the carbon Mira V CrB is presently undergoing mass loss at a rate of 2 10^-7 Msol/yr, but was not detected in HI. The wind is mostly molecular, and was active for at most 3 10^4 years, with an integrated mass loss of at most 6.5 10^-3 Msol. Conclusions. Although both sources are carbon stars on the TP-AGB, they appear to develop mass loss under very different conditions, and a high rate of mass loss may not imply a high integrated mass loss.

CO and HI observations of an enigmatic cloud

An isolated HI cloud with peculiar properties has recently been discovered by Dedes, Dedes, & Kalberla (2008, A&A, 491, L45) with the 300-m Arecibo telescope, and subsequently imaged with the VLA. It has an angular size of ~6, and the HI emission has a narrow line profile of width ~ 3 km/s. We explore the possibility that this cloud could be associated with a circumstellar envelope ejected by an evolved star. Observations were made in the rotational lines of CO with the IRAM-30m telescope, on three positions in the cloud, and a total-power mapping in the HI line was obtained with the Nancay Radio Telescope. CO was not detected and seems too underabundant in this cloud to be a classical late-type star circumstellar envelope. On the other hand, the HI emission is compatible with the detached-shell model that we developed for representing the external environments of AGB stars. We propose that this cloud could be a fossil circumstellar shell left over from a system that is now in a post-planetary-nebula phase. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out that it is a Galactic cloud or a member of the Local Group, although the narrow line profile would be atypical in both cases.

Discovery of an HI Counterpart to the Extended Tail of Mira

We report the detection of an HI counterpart to the extended, far-ultraviolet-emitting tail associated with the asymptotic giant branch star Mira (o Ceti). Using the Nancay Radio Telescope (NRT), we have detected emission as far as 88 north of the star, confirming that the tail contains a significant atomic component (M_HI ~ 4x10e-3 M_sun). The NRT spectra reveal a deceleration of the tail gas caused by interaction with the local interstellar medium. We estimate an age for the tail of ~1.2x10e5 years, suggesting that the mass-loss history of Mira has been more prolonged than previous observational estimates. Using the Very Large Array (VLA) we have also imaged the HI tail out to ~12 (0.4 pc) from the star. The detected emission shows a ``head-tail morphology, but with complex substructure. Regions with detected HI emission correlate with far-ultraviolet-luminous regions on large scales, but the two tracers are not closely correlated on smaller scales (<1). We propose that detectable tails of HI are likely to be a common feature of red giants undergoing mass-loss.

The formation of a detached shell around the carbon star Y CVn

Y CVn is a carbon star surrounded by a detached dust shell that has been imaged by the Infrared Space Observatory at 90 microns. With the Nancay Radio Telescope we have studied the gaseous counterpart in the 21-cm HI emission line. New data have been acquired and allow to improve the signal to noise ratio on this line. The high spectral resolution line profiles obtained at the position of the star and at several offset positions set strong constraints on the gas temperature and kinematics within the detached shell; the bulk of the material should be at ~ 100-200 K and in expansion at ~ 1-2 km/s. In addition, the line profile at the central position shows a quasi-rectangular pedestal that traces an 8 km/s outflow of ~ 1.0 10^-7 Msol/yr, stable for about 2 10^4 years, which corresponds to the central outflow already studied with CO rotational lines. We present a model in which the detached shell results from the slowing-down of the stellar wind by surrounding matter. The inner radius corresponds to the location where the stellar outflow is abruptly slowed down from ~ 8 km/s to 2 km/s (termination shock). The outer radius corresponds to the location where external matter is compressed by the expanding shell (bow shock). In this model the mass loss rate of Y CVn has been set constant, at the same level of 1.0 10^-7 Msol/yr, for ~ 4.5 10^5 years. The gas temperature varies from ~ 1800 K at the inner limit to 165 K at the interface between circumstellar matter and external matter. Our modelling shows that the presence of a detached shell around an AGB star may not mean that a drastic reduction of the mass loss rate has occurred in the past. The inner radius of such a shell might only be the effect of a termination shock rather than of an interruption of the mass loss process.