ALMA Observations of Anisotropic Dust Mass Loss around VY CMa
Paper i proceeding, 2015

We present high resolution ALMA Science Verification data of the continuum emission around the highly evolved oxygen-rich red supergiant VY CMa. These data enable us to study the dust in its inner circumstellar environment at a spatial resolution of 129 mas at 321 GHz and 59 mas at 658 GHz, thus allowing us to trace dust on spatial scales down to 11 R-star (71 AU). Two prominent dust components are detected and resolved. We find that at least 17% of the dust mass around VY CMa is located in clumps ejected within a more quiescent roughly spherical stellar wind, with a quiescent dust mass loss rate of 5 x 10(-6) M-circle dot yr(-1). The anisotropic morphology of the dust indicates a continuous, directed mass loss over a few decades, suggesting that this mass loss cannot be driven by large convection cells alone.

Författare

Eamon O Gorman

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik

Wouter Vlemmings

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

A. M. S. Richards

A. Baudry

Elvire De Beck

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

L. Decin

G. M. Harper

E. M. Humphreys

P. Kervella

Theo Khouri

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Radioastronomi och astrofysik

Sebastien Muller

Chalmers, Rymd- och geovetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

4th ALMA Science Conference on Revolution in Astronomy with ALMA: The Third Year, Tokyo, Japan, 8-11 December

Vol. 499 335-336
978-1-58381-883-1 (ISBN)

Ämneskategorier

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

Infrastruktur

Onsala rymdobservatorium

ISBN

978-1-58381-883-1

Mer information

Skapat

2017-10-07