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Sebastian Perez

Publications and source records attributed to Sebastian Perez.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

An inner warp in the DoAr 44 T Tauri transition disk

Optical/IR images of transition disks (TDs) have revealed deep intensity decrements in the rings of HAeBes HD142527 and HD100453, that can be interpreted as shadowing from sharply tilted inner disks, such that the outer disks are directly exposed to stellar light. Here we report similar dips in SPHERE+IRDIS differential polarized imaging (DPI) of TTauri DoAr44. With a fairly axially symmetric ring in the submm radio continuum, DoAr44 is likely also a warped system. We constrain the warp geometry by comparing radiative transfer predictions with the DPI data in H band (Q_ϕ(H)) and with a re-processing of archival 336GHz ALMA observations. The observed DPI shadows have coincident radio counterparts, but the intensity drops are much deeper in Q_ϕ(H) (~88%), compared to the shallow drops at 336GHz (~24%). Radiative transfer predictions with an inner disk tilt of ~30+-5deg approximately account for the observations. ALMA long-baseline observations should allow the observation of the warped gas kinematics inside the cavity of DoAr44.

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The ALMA early science view of FUor/EXor objects - V: continuum disc masses and sizes

Low-mass stars build a significant fraction of their total mass during short outbursts of enhanced accretion known as FUor and EXor outbursts. FUor objects are characterized by a sudden brightening of ~5 magnitudes at visible wavelengths within one year and remain bright for decades. EXor objects have lower amplitude outbursts on shorter timescales. Here we discuss a 1.3 mm ALMA mini-survey of eight outbursting sources (three FUor, four EXor, and the borderline object V1647 Ori) in the Orion Molecular Cloud. While previous papers in this series discuss the remarkable molecular outflows observed in the three FUor objects and V1647 Ori, here we focus on the continuum data and the differences and similarities between the FUor and EXor populations. We find that FUor discs are significantly more massive (~80-600 M_JUP) than the EXor objects (~0.5-40 M_JUP ). We also report that the EXor sources lack the prominent outflows seen in the FUor population. Even though our sample is small, the large differences in disc masses and outflow activity suggest that the two types of objects represent different evolutionary stages. The FUor sources seem to be rather compact (Rc < 20-40 au) and to have a smaller characteristic radius for a given disc mass when compared to T Tauri stars. V1118 Ori, the only known close binary systemin our sample, is shown to host a disc around each one of the stellar components. The disc around HBC 494 is asymmetric, hinting at a structure in the outer disc or the presence of a second disc.

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ALMA observations of Elias 2-24: a protoplanetary disk with multiple gaps in the Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud

We present ALMA 1.3 mm continuum observations at 0.2" (25 au) resolution of Elias 2-24, one of the largest and brightest protoplanetary disks in the Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud, and report the presence of three partially resolved concentric gaps located at ~20, 52, and 87 au from the star. We perform radiative transfer modeling of the disk to constrain its surface density and temperature radial profile and place the disk structure in the context of mechanisms capable of forming narrow gaps such as condensation fronts and dynamical clearing by actively forming planets. In particular, we estimate the disk temperature at the locations of the gaps to be 23, 15, and 12 K (at 20, 52, and 87 au respectively), very close to the expected snow-lines of CO (23-28 K) and N2 (12-15 K). Similarly, by assuming that the widths of the gaps correspond to 4-8 x the Hill radii of forming planets (as suggested by numerical simulations), we estimate planet masses in the range of 0.2-1.5 M_Jup, 1.0-8.0 M_Jup, and 0.02-0.15 M_Jup for the inner, middle, and outer gap, respectively. Given the surface density profile of the disk, the amount of "missing mass" at the location of each one of these gaps (between 4 and 20 M_Jup) is more than sufficient to account for the formation of such planets.

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Variable dynamics in the inner disk of HD 135344B revealed with multi-epoch scattered light imaging

We present multi-epoch VLT/SPHERE observations of the protoplanetary disk around HD 135344B (SAO 206462). The $J$-band scattered light imagery reveal, with high spatial resolution ($\sim$41 mas, 6.4 au), the disk surface beyond $\sim$20 au. Temporal variations are identified in the azimuthal brightness distributions of all epochs, presumably related to the asymmetrically shading dust distribution in the inner disk. These shadows manifest themselves as narrow lanes, cast by localized density enhancements, and broader features which possibly trace the larger scale dynamics of the inner disk. We acquired visible and near-infrared photometry which shows variations up to 10% in the $JHK$ bands, possibly correlated with the presence of the shadows. Analysis of archival VLTI/PIONIER $H$-band visibilities constrain the orientation of the inner disk to $i = 18.2°^{+3.4}_{-4.1}$ and ${\rm PA} = 57.3°\pm 5.7°$, consistent with an alignment with the outer disk or a minor disk warp of several degrees. The latter scenario could explain the broad, quasi-stationary shadowing in N-NW direction in case the inclination of the outer disk is slightly larger. The correlation between the shadowing and the near-infrared excess is quantified with a grid of radiative transfer models. The variability of the scattered light contrast requires extended variations in the inner disk atmosphere ($H/r \lesssim 0.2$). Possible mechanisms that may cause asymmetric variations in the optical depth ($Δτ\lesssim1$) through the atmosphere of the inner disk include turbulent fluctuations, planetesimal collisions, or a dusty disk wind, possibly enhanced by a minor disk warp. A fine temporal sampling is required to follow day-to-day changes of the shadow patterns which may be a face-on variant of the UX Orionis phenomenon.

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The ALMA Early Science View of FUor/EXor objects. IV. Misaligned Outflows in the Complex Star-forming Environment of V1647 Ori and McNeil's Nebula

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the star-forming environment surrounding V1647 Ori, an outbursting FUor/EXor pre-MS star. Dust continuum and the (J = 2 - 1) $^{12}$CO, $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O molecular emission lines were observed to characterize the V1647 Ori circumstellar disc and any large scale molecular features present. We detect continuum emission from the circumstellar disc and determine a radius r = 40 au, inclination i = 17$^{\circ}$$^{+6}_{-9}$ and total disc mass of M$_{\mathrm{disk}}$ of ~0.1 M$_{\odot}$. We do not identify any disc structures associated with nearby companions, massive planets or fragmentation. The molecular cloud environment surrounding V1647 Ori is both structured and complex. We confirm the presence of an excavated cavity north of V1647 Ori and have identified dense material at the base of the optical reflection nebula (McNeil's Nebula) that is actively shaping its surrounding environment. Two distinct outflows have been detected with dynamical ages of ~11,700 and 17,200 years. These outflows are misaligned suggesting disc precession over ~5500 years as a result of anisotropic accretion events is responsible. The collimated outflows exhibit velocities of ~2 km s$^{-1}$, similar in velocity to that of other FUor objects presented in this series but significantly slower than previous observations and model predictions. The V1647 Ori system is seemingly connected by an "arm" of material to a large unresolved structure located ~20$"$ to the west. The complex environment surrounding V1647 Ori suggests it is in the early stages of star formation which may relate to its classification as both an FUor and EXor type object.

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Imaging the water-snow line during a protostellar outburst

A snow-line is the region of a protoplanetary disk at which a major volatile, such as water or carbon monoxide, reaches its condensation temperature. Snow-lines play a crucial role in disk evolution by promoting the rapid growth of ice-covered grains. Signatures of the carbon monoxide snow-line (at temperatures of around 20 kelvin) have recently been imaged in the disks surrounding the pre-main-sequence stars TW Hydra and HD163296, at distances of about 30 astronomical units (au) from the star. But the water snow-line of a protoplanetary disk (at temperatures of more than 100 kelvin) has not hitherto been seen, as it generally lies very close to the star (less than 5 au away for solar-type stars). Water-ice is important because it regulates the efficiency of dust and planetesimal coagulation, and the formation of comets, ice giants and the cores of gas giants. Here we report ALMA images at 0.03-arcsec resolution (12 au) of the protoplanetary disk around V883 Ori, a protostar of 1.3 solar masses that is undergoing an outburst in luminosity arising from a temporary increase in the accretion rate. We find an intensity break corresponding to an abrupt change in the optical depth at about 42 au, where the elevated disk temperature approaches the condensation point of water, from which we conclude that the outburst has moved the water snow-line. The spectral behaviour across the snow-line confirms recent model predictions: dust fragmentation and the inhibition of grain growth at higher temperatures results in soaring grain number densities and optical depths. As most planetary systems are expected to experience outbursts caused by accretion during their formation our results imply that highly dynamical water snow-lines must be considered when developing models of disk evolution and planet formation.

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Spiral waves triggered by shadows in transition disks

Circumstellar asymmetries such as central warps have recently been shown to cast shadows on outer disks. We investigate the hydrodynamical consequences of such variable illumination on the outer regions of a transition disk, and the development of spiral arms. Using 2D simulations, we follow the evolution of a gaseous disk passively heated by the central star, under the periodic forcing of shadows with an opening angle of $\sim$28$^\circ$. With a lower pressure under the shadows, each crossing results in a variable azimuthal acceleration, which in time develops into spiral density waves. Their pitch angles evolve from $Π\sim 15^\circ-22^\circ$ at the onset, to $\sim$11$^\circ$-14$^\circ$, over $\sim$65~AU to 150~AU. Self-gravity enhances the density contrast of the spiral waves, as also reported previously for spirals launched by planets. Our control simulations with unshadowed irradiation do not develop structures, except for a different form of spiral waves seen at later times only in the gravitationally unstable control case. Scattered light predictions in the $H$-band show that such illumination spirals should be observable. We suggest that spiral arms in the case-study transition disk HD~142527 could be explained as a result of shadowing from the tilted inner disk.

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Planet formation signposts: observability of circumplanetary disks via gas kinematics

The identification of on-going planet formation requires the finest angular resolutions and deepest sensitivities in observations inspired by state-of-the-art numerical simulations. Hydrodynamic simulations of planet-disk interactions predict the formation of circumplanetary disks (CPDs) around accreting planetary cores. These CPDs have eluded unequivocal detection -their identification requires predictions in CPD tracers. In this work, we aim to assess the observability of embedded CPDs with ALMA as features imprinted in the gas kinematics. We use 3D Smooth Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) simulations of CPDs around 1 and 5 M_Jup planets at large stellocentric radii, in locally isothermal and adiabatic disks. The simulations are then connected with 3D radiative transfer for predictions in CO isotopologues. Observability is assessed by corrupting with realistic long baseline phase noise extracted from the recent HL Tau ALMA data. We find that the presence of a CPD produces distinct signposts: 1) compact emission separated in velocity from the overall circumstellar disk's Keplerian pattern, 2) a strong impact on the velocity pattern when the Doppler shifted line emission sweeps across the CPD location, and 3) a local increase in the velocity dispersion. We test our predictions with a simulation tailored for HD 100546 -which has a reported protoplanet candidate. We find that the CPDs are detectable in all 3 signposts with ALMA Cycle 3 capabilities for both 1 and 5 M_Jup protoplanets, when embedded in an isothermal disk.

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Accretion kinematics through the warped transition disk in HD142527 from resolved CO(6-5) observations

The finding of residual gas in the large central cavity of the HD142527 disk motivates questions on the origin of its non-Keplerian kinematics, and possible connections with planet formation. We aim to understand the physical structure that underlies the intra-cavity gaseous flows, guided by new molecular-line data in CO(6-5) with unprecedented angular resolutions. Given the warped structure inferred from the identification of scattered-light shadows cast on the outer disk, the kinematics are consistent, to first order, with axisymmetric accretion onto the inner disk occurring at all azimuth. A steady-state accretion profile, fixed at the stellar accretion rate, explains the depth of the cavity as traced in CO isotopologues. The abrupt warp and evidence for near free-fall radial flows in HD 142527 resemble theoretical models for disk tearing, which could be driven by the reported low mass companion, whose orbit may be contained in the plane of the inner disk. The companion's high inclination with respect to the massive outer disk could drive Kozai oscillations over long time-scales; high-eccentricity periods may perhaps account for the large cavity. While shadowing by the tilted disk could imprint an azimuthal modulation in the molecular-line maps, further observations are required to ascertain the significance of azimuthal structure in the density field inside the cavity of HD142527.

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A compact concentration of large grains in the HD142527 protoplanetary dust trap

A pathway to the formation of planetesimals, and eventually giant planets, may occur in concentrations of dust grains trapped in pressure maxima. Dramatic crescent-shaped dust concentrations have been seen in recent radio images at sub-mm wavelengths. These disk asymmetries could represent the initial phases of planet formation in the dust trap scenario, provided that grain sizes are spatially segregated. A testable prediction of azimuthal dust trapping is that progressively larger grains should be more sharply confined and furthermore the trapped grains should follow a distribution that is markedly different from the gas. However, gas tracers such as CO and the infrared emission from small grains are both very optically thick where the submm continuum originates, so observations have been unable to test the trapping predictions or to identify compact concentrations of larger grains required for planet formation by core-accretion. Here we report multifrequency observations of HD142527, from 34GHz to 700GHz, that reveal a compact concentration of ~cm-sized grains, with a few Earth masses, embedded in a large-scale crescent of ~mm-sized particles. The emission peaks at wavelengths shorter than ~1mm are optically thick and trace the temperature structure resulting from shadows cast by the inner regions. Given this temperature structure, we infer that the largest dust grains are concentrated in the 34 GHz clump. We conclude that dust trapping is efficient for approximately cm-sized grains and leads to enhanced concentrations, while the smaller grains largely reflect the gas distribution.

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Protoplanetary disks including radiative feedback from accreting planets

While recent observational progress is converging on the detection of compact regions of thermal emission due to embedded protoplanets, further theoretical predictions are needed to understand the response of a protoplanetary disk to the planet formation radiative feedback. This is particularly important to make predictions for the observability of circumplanetary regions. In this work we use 2D hydrodynamical simulations to examine the evolution of a viscous protoplanetary disk in which a luminous Jupiter-mass planet is embedded. We use an energy equation which includes the radiative heating of the planet as an additional mechanism for planet formation feedback. Several models are computed for planet luminosities ranging from $10^{-5}$ to $10^{-3}$ Solar luminosities. We find that the planet radiative feedback enhances the disk's accretion rate at the planet's orbital radius, producing a hotter and more luminous environement around the planet, independently of the prescription used to model the disk's turbulent viscosity. We also estimate the thermal signature of the planet feedback for our range of planet luminosities, finding that the emitted spectrum of a purely active disk, without passive heating, is appreciably modified in the infrared. We simulate the protoplanetary disk around HD 100546 where a planet companion is located at about 68 au from the star. Assuming the planet mass is 5 Jupiter masses and its luminosity is $\sim 2.5 \times 10^{-4} \, L_\odot$, we find that the radiative feedback of the planet increases the luminosity of its $\sim 5$ au circumplanetary disk from $10^{-5} \, \rm L_\odot$ (without feedback) to $10^{-3} \, \rm L_\odot$, corresponding to an emission of $\sim 1 \, \rm mJy$ in $L^\prime$ band after radiative transfer calculations, a value that is in good agreement with HD 100546b observations.

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Shadows cast by a warp in the HD 142527 protoplanetary disk

Detailed observations of gaps in protoplanetary disks have revealed structures that drive current research on circumstellar disks. One such feature is the two intensity nulls seen along the outer disk of the HD 142527 system, which are particularly well traced in polarized differential imaging. Here we propose that these are shadows cast by the inner disk. The inner and outer disk are thick, in terms of the unit-opacity surface in H-band, so that the shape and orientation of the shadows inform on the three-dimmensional structure of the system. Radiative transfer predictions on a parametric disk model allow us to conclude that the relative inclination between the inner and outer disks is 70+-5 deg. This finding taps the potential of high-contrast imaging of circumstellar disks, and bears consequences on the gas dynamics of gapped disks, as well as on the physical conditions in the shadowed regions.

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CO gas inside the protoplanetary disk cavity in HD 142527: disk structure from ALMA

Inner cavities and annular gaps in circumstellar disks are possible signposts of giant planet formation. The young star HD 142527 hosts a massive protoplanetary disk with a large cavity that extends up to 140 au from the central star, as seen in continuum images at infrared and millimeter wavelengths. Estimates of the survival of gas inside disk cavities are needed to discriminate between clearing scenarios. We present a spatially and spectrally resolved carbon monoxide isotopologue observations of the gas-rich disk HD 142527, in the J=2-1 line of 12CO, 13CO and C18O, obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). We detect emission coming from inside the dust-depleted cavity in all three isotopologues. Based on our analysis of the gas in the dust cavity, the 12CO emission is optically thick, while 13CO and C18O emission are both optically thin. The total mass of residual gas inside the cavity is about 1.5-2 Jupiter masses. We model the gas with an axisymmetric disk model. Our best fit model shows that the cavity radius is much smaller in CO than it is in millimeter continuum and scattered light observations, with a gas cavity that does not extend beyond 105 au (at 3-sigma). The gap wall at its outer edge is diffuse and smooth in the gas distribution, while in dust continuum it is manifestly sharper. The inclination angle, as estimated from the high velocity channel maps, is 28+/-0.5 degrees, higher than in previous estimates, assuming a fix central star mass of 2.2 Solar masses.

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Spiral arms in the disk of HD 142527 from CO emission lines with ALMA

In view of both the size of its gap and the previously reported asymmetries and near-infrared spiral arms, the transition disk of the Herbig Fe star HD 142527 constitutes a remarkable case study. This paper focuses on the morphology of the outer disk through ALMA observations of $^{12}$CO J=2-1, $^{12}$CO J=3-2 and $^{13}$CO J=2-1. Both $^{12}$CO J=2-1 and $^{12}$CO J=3-2 show spiral features of different sizes. The innermost spiral arm (S1) is a radio counterpart of the first near-infrared spiral observed by Fukagawa et al. (2006), but it is shifted radially outward. However, the most conspicuous CO spiral arm (S2) lies at the outskirts of the disk and had not been detected before. It corresponds to a cold density structure, with both brightness and excitation temperatures of order 13$\pm$2 K and conspicuous in the $^{12}$CO J=2-1 peak-intensity map, but faint in $^{12}$CO J=3-2. There is also a faint counterarm (S3), point-symmetrical of S2 with respect to the star. These three spirals are modelled separately with two different formulae that approximate the loci of density maxima in acoustic waves due to embedded planets. S1 could be fit relatively well with these formulae, compared to S2 and S3. Alternative scenarios such as gravitational instability or external tidal interaction are discussed. The impact of channelization on spectrally and spatially resolved peak intensity maps is also briefly addressed.

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Sparse Aperture Masking Observations of the FL Cha Pre-transitional Disk

We present deep Sparse Aperture Masking (SAM) observations obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope of the pre-transitional disk object FL Cha (SpT=K8, d=160 pc), the disk of which is known to have a wide optically thin gap separating optically thick inner and outer disk components. We find non-zero closure phases, indicating a significant flux asymmetry in the K-band emission (e.g., a departure from a single point source detection). We also present radiative transfer modeling of the SED of the FL Cha system and find that the gap extends from ~0.06 to ~8.3 AU. We demonstrate that the non-zero closure phases can be explained almost equally well by starlight scattered off the inner edge of the outer disk or by a (sub)stellar companion. Single-epoch, single-wavelength SAM observations of transitional disks with large cavities that could become resolved should thus be interpreted with caution, taking the disk and its properties into consideration. In the context of a binary model, the signal is most consistent with a high-contrast (delta_K ~4.8 mag) source at a ~40 mas (6 AU) projected separation. However, the flux ratio and separation parameters remain highly degenerate and a much brighter source (deta_K ~1 mag) at 15 mas (2.4 AU) can also reproduce the signal. Second-epoch, multi-wavelength observations are needed to establish the nature of the SAM detection in FL Cha.

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SS433's circumbinary ring and accretion disc viewed through its attenuating disc wind

We present optical spectroscopy of the microquasar SS433 covering a significant fraction of a precessional cycle of its jet axis. The components of the prominent stationary H-alpha and H-beta lines are mainly identified as arising from three emitting regions: (i) a super-Eddington accretion disc wind, in the form of a broad component accounting for most of the mass loss from the system, (ii) a circumbinary disc of material that we presume is being excreted through the binary's L2 point, and (iii) the accretion disc itself as two remarkably persistent components. The accretion disc components move with a Keplerian velocity of ~600 km/s in the outer region of the disc. A direct result of this decomposition is the determination of the accretion disc size, whose outer radius attains ~8 R_sun in the case of Keplerian orbits around a black hole mass of 10 M_sun. We determine an upper limit for the accretion disc inner to outer radius ratio in SS433, R_in/R_out ~ 0.2, independent of the mass of the compact object. The Balmer decrements, H-alpha/H-beta, are extracted from the appropriate stationary emission lines for each component of the system. The physical parameters of the gaseous components are derived. The circumbinary ring decrement seems to be quite constant throughout precessional phase, implying a constant electron density of log N_e(cm^-3) ~ 11.5 for the circumbinary disc. The accretion disc wind shows a larger change in its decrements exhibiting a clear dependence on precessional phase, implying a sinusoid variation in its electron density log N_e(cm^-3) along our line-of-sight between 10 and 13. This dependence of density on direction suggests that the accretion disc wind is polloidal in nature.

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Near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of the nuclear region of the disturbed Virgo cluster spiral NGC 4438

We present near-infrared VLT ISAAC imaging and spectroscopy of the peculiar Virgo galaxy NGC 4438, whose nucleus has been classified as a LINER. The data are supplemented by mid-infrared imaging, and compared to previous WFPC2 HST broadband images. Images and position-velocity maps of the [Fe II] and H2 line emissions are presented and compared with the distribution of the optical narrow-line region and radio features. Our results show that shocks (possibly driven by a radio jet) contribute to an important fraction of the excitation of [Fe II], while X-ray heating from a central AGN may be responsible for the H2 excitation. We address the question whether the outflow has an AGN or a starburst origin by providing new estimates of the central star formation rate and the kinetic energy associated with the gas. By fitting a Sersic bulge, an exponential disc and a compact nuclear source to the light distribution, we decomposed NGC 4438's light distribution and found an unresolved nuclear source at 0.8 arcsec resolution with M_K = -18.7 and J-H = 0.69. Our measured bulge velocity dispersion, 142 km/s, together with the standard M_bh-sigma relation, suggests a central black hole mass of log(M_bh/Msun) ~ 7.0. The stellar kinematics measured from the near-infrared CO lines shows a strong peak in the velocity dispersion of 178 km/s in the central 0.5 arcsec, which is possible kinematic evidence of a central black hole. We calculated a general expression for the integrated Sersic profile flux density in elliptical geometry, including the case of 'disky' isophotes.

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Inflow and outflow from the accretion disc of the microquasar SS433: UKIRT spectroscopy

A succession of near-IR spectroscopic observations, taken nightly throughout an entire cycle of SS433's orbit, reveal (i) the persistent signature of SS433's accretion disc, having a rotation speed of ~500 km/s, (ii) the presence of the circumbinary disc recently discovered at optical wavelengths by Blundell, Bowler and Schmidtobreick (2008) and (iii) a much faster outflow than has previously been measured for the disc wind. From these, we find a much faster accretion disc wind than has noted before, with a terminal velocity of ~1500 km/s. The increased wind terminal velocity results in a mass-loss rate of ~10e-4 M_sun/yr. These, together with the newly (upwardly) determined masses for the components of the SS433 system, result in an accurate diagnosis of the extent to which SS433 has super-Eddington flows. Our observations imply that the size of the companion star is comparable with the semi-minor axis of the orbit which is given by (1-e^2)^(1/2) 40 R_sun, where e is the eccentricity. Our relatively high spectral resolution at these near-IR wavelengths has enabled us to deconstruct the different components that comprise the Brackett-gamma line in this binary system, and their physical origins. With this line dominated throughout our series of observations by the disc wind, and the accretion disc itself being only a minority (~15 per cent) contribution, we caution against use of the unresolved Brackett-gamma line intensity as an "accretion signature" in X-ray binaries or microquasars in any quantitative way.

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