A HIFI preview of warm molecular gas around chi Cygni: first detection of H2O emission toward an S-type AGB star
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2010

Aims. A set of new, sensitive, and spectrally resolved, sub-millimeter line observations are used to probe the warm circumstellar gas around the S-type AGB star chi Cyg. The observed lines involve high rotational quantum numbers, which, combined with previously obtained lower-frequency data, make it posible to study in detail the chemical and physical properties of, essentially, the entire circumstellar envelope of chi Cyg. Methods. The data were obtained using the HIFI instrument aboard Herschel, whose high spectral resolution provides valuable information about the line profiles. Detailed, non-LTE, radiative transfer modelling, including dust radiative transfer coupled with a dynamical model, has been performed to derive the temperature, density, and velocity structure of the circumstellar envelope. Results. We report the first detection of circumstellar H2O rotational emission lines in an S-star. Using the high-J CO lines to derive the parameters for the circumstellar envelope, we modelled both the ortho-and para-H2O lines. Our modelling results are consistent with the velocity structure expected for a dust-driven wind. The derived total H2O abundance (relative to H-2) is (1.1 +/- 0.2) x 10(-5), much lower than that in O-rich stars. The derived ortho-to-para ratio of 2.1 +/- 0.6 is close to the high-temperature equilibrium limit, consistent with H2O being formed in the photosphere.

iso-sws

stars: late-type

carbon stars

mass-loss rates

evolved stars

stars: kinematics and

co

stars: mass-loss

dynamics

stars: AGB and post-AGB

circumstellar matter

giant branch stars

circumstellar water-vapor

stars: individual: chi Cyg

w-hydrae

rotational line-profiles

loss history

Författare

Kay Justtanont

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik

L. Decin

KU Leuven

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

Fredrik Schöier

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

Matthias Maercker

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Universität Bonn

Hans Olofsson

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

V. Bujarrabal

Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN)

A. P. Marston

Europeiska rymdorganisationen (ESA)

D. Teyssier

Europeiska rymdorganisationen (ESA)

J. Alcolea

Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN)

J. Cernicharo

Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB)

C. Dominik

Radboud Universiteit

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

A. de Koter

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

Sterrekundig Instituut Utrecht

G. J. Melnick

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

K. Menten

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

D. A. Neufeld

Johns Hopkins University

P. Planesas

Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA)

Europeiska rymdorganisationen (ESA)

M. Schmidt

Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN)

R. Szczerba

Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA)

R. Waters

KU Leuven

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

T. de Graauw

Polish Academy of Sciences

N. Whyborn

Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA)

T. Finn

Maynooth University

F. Helmich

Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON)

O. Siebertz

Universität zu Köln

F. Schmulling

Universität zu Köln

V. Ossenkopf

Universität zu Köln

R. Lai

Northrop Grumman corporation

Astronomy and Astrophysics

0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)

Vol. 521 1 Article Number: L6- L6

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2011)

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/201015092

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Senast uppdaterat

2025-04-23