arXiv subjects

Nathan Smith

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Smith.

345 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

arXiv2002

Dissecting the Homunculus nebula around Eta Carinae with spatially resolved near-infrared spectroscopy

Near-infrared emission lines provide unique diagnostics of the geometry, structure, kinematics, and excitation of eta Carinae's circumstellar ejecta, and give clues to the nature of its wind. The infrared spectrum is a strong function of position in eta Car's nebula, with a mix of intrinsic and reflected emission. Molecular hydrogen traces cool gas and dust in the polar lobes, while [Fe II] blankets their inner surfaces. These lines reveal the back wall of the SE polar lobe for the first time, and give the clearest picture yet of the 3-D geometry. Additionally, collisionally-excited [Fe II] reveals the kinematic structure of a recently discovered `Little Homunculus' expanding inside the larger one. Equatorial gas in the `Fan', on the other hand, shows a spectrum indicating recombination and fluorescent pumping. Some equatorial ejecta glow in the He I 10830 line, showing evidence for material ejected in the 1890 outburst of eta Car. Closer to the star, the compact `Weigelt blobs' are marginally resolved, allowing their infrared spectrum to be separated from the star for the first time. In general, infrared spectra reveal a coherent, directional dependence of excitation in the Homunculus: polar ejecta are collisionally excited, whereas equatorial ejecta are dominated by fluorescence and normal photoexcitation. These are important clues to the geometry of the central star's UV radiation field. Reflected near-infrared emission lines also reveal interesting latitudinal dependence in the stellar wind.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Crossing the `Yellow Void' -- Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of the Post- Red Supergiant IRC+10420 and Its Circumstellar Ejecta

IRC +10420 is one of the extreme hypergiant stars that define the empirical upper luminosity boundary in the HR diagram. During their post--RSG evolution, these massive stars enter a temperature range (6000-9000 K) of increased dynamical instability, high mass loss, and increasing opacity, a semi--forbidden region, that de Jager and his collaborators have called the `yellow void'. We report HST/STIS spatially resolved spectroscopy of IRC +10420 and its reflection nebula with some surprising results. Long slit spectroscopy of the reflected spectrum allows us to effectively view the star from different directions. Measurements of the double--peaked Halpha emission profile show a uniform outflow of gas in a nearly spherical distribution, contrary to previous models with an equatorial disk or bipolar outflow. Based on the temperature and mass loss rate estimates that are usually quoted for this object, the wind is optically thick to the continuum at some and possibly all wavelengths. Consequently the observed variations in apparent spectral type and inferred temperature are changes in the wind and do not necessarily mean that the underlying stellar radius and interior structure are evolving on such a short timescale. To explain the evidence for simultaneous outflow and infall of material near the star, we propose a `rain' model in which blobs of gas condense in regions of lowered opacity outside the dense wind. With the apparent warming of its wind, the recent appearance of strong emission, and a decline in the mass loss rate, IRC +10420 may be about to shed its opaque wind, cross the `yellow void', and emerge as a hotter star.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

A disrupted circumstellar torus inside eta Carinae's Homunculus Nebula

We present thermal infrared images of the bipolar nebula surrounding eta Carinae at six wavelengths from 4.8 to 24.5 microns. These were obtained with the MIRAC3 camera system at the Magellan Observatory. Our images reveal new intricate structure in the bright core of the nebula, allowing us to re-evaluate interpretations of morphology seen in images with lower resolution. Complex structures in the core might not arise from a pair of overlapping rings or a cool (110 K) and very massive dust torus, as has been suggested recently. Instead, it seems more likely that the arcs and compact knots comprise a warm (350 K) disrupted torus at the intersection of the larger polar lobes. Some of the arcs appear to break out of the inner core region, and may be associated with equatorial features seen in optical images. The torus could have been disrupted by a post-eruption stellar wind, or by ejecta from the Great Eruption itself if the torus existed before that event. Kinematic data are required to rule out either possibility.

astro-ph↗