This paper serves as a reference on how to estimate the parameters of binary stars and how to combine multiple techniques, namely astrometry, interferometry and radial velocities.
Dusty Wolf-Rayet stars are few but remarkable in terms of dust production rates (up to one millionth of solar mass per year). Infrared excesses associated to mass-loss are found in the sub-types WC8 and WC9. Few WC9d stars are hosting a pinwheel nebu
la, indirect evidence of a companion star around the primary. While few other WC9d stars have a dust shell which has been barely resolved so far, the available angular resolution offered by single telescopes is insufficient to confirm if they also host pinwheel nebulae or not. In this article, we present the possible detection of such nebula around the star WR118. We discuss about the potential of interferometry to image more pinwheel nebulae around other WC9d stars.
Thanks to the high spatial resolution provided by long baseline interferometry, it is possible to understand the complex circumstellar geometry around stars with the B[e] phenomenon. These stars are composed by objects in different evolutionary stage
s, like high- and low-mass evolved stars, intermediate-mass pre-main sequence stars and symbiotic objects. However, up to now more than 50% of the confirmed B[e] stars are not well classified, being called unclassified B[e] stars. From instruments like VLTI/AMBER and VLTI/MIDI, we have identified the presence of gaseous and dusty circumstellar disks, which have provided us with some hints related to the nature of these objects. Here, we show our results for two galactic stars with the B[e] phenomenon, HD 50138 and CPD-529243, based on interferometric measurements.
In the hierarchical structure formation model, galaxies grow through various merging events. Numerical simulations indicate that the mergers can enhance the activity of the central supermassive black holes in the galaxies. Pfeifle et al. (2019a) iden
tified a system of three interacting galaxies, J0849$+$1114, and provided multiwavelength evidence of all three galaxies containing active galactic nuclei. The system has substantial radio emission, and with high-resolution radio interferometric observation we aimed to investigate its origin, whether it is related to star formation or to one or more of the active galactic nuclei in the system. We performed high-resolution continuum observation of J0849$+$1114 with the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network at $1.7$ GHz. We detected one compact radio emitting source at the position of the easternmost nucleus. Its high brightness temperature and radio power indicate that the radio emission originates from a radio-emitting active galactic nucleus. Additionally, we found that significant amount of flux density is contained in $sim 100$ milliarcsec-scale feature related to the active nucleus.
We give an introduction to interferometrical concepts and their applicability to Be stars. The first part of the paper concentrates on a short historic overview and basic principles of two-beam interferometric observations. In the second part, the VL
TI/MIDI instrument is introduced and its first results on Be stars, obtained on alpha Ara and delta Cen, are outlined.
Space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) has unique applications in high-resolution imaging of fine structure of astronomical objects and high-precision astrometry due to the key long space-Earth or space-space baselines beyond the Earths diame
ter. China has been actively involved in the development of space VLBI in recent years. This review briefly summarizes Chinas research progress in space VLBI and the future development plan.