Complex stellar winds from evolved stars
Stars less than eight times the mass of the Sun end their lives as planetary nebulae, structures of ionized gas thrown off by the star and heated by the ...exposed stellar core. Planetary nebulae are often bipolar in shape or contain complex morphological features such as rings or spirals. Decin
et al.
observed the stellar winds of 14 stars during their asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of stellar evolution, which immediately precedes the planetary nebula phase. They found morphologies in the AGB winds similar to planetary nebulae and demonstrated that they are produced by the influence of a binary companion on the AGB wind.
Science
, this issue p.
1497
Complex morphologies in the winds of asymptotic giant branch stars and planetary nebulae are produced by binary interactions.
Binary interactions dominate the evolution of massive stars, but their role is less clear for low- and intermediate-mass stars. The evolution of a spherical wind from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star into a nonspherical planetary nebula (PN) could be due to binary interactions. We observed a sample of AGB stars with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and found that their winds exhibit distinct nonspherical geometries with morphological similarities to planetary nebulae (PNe). We infer that the same physics shapes both AGB winds and PNe; additionally, the morphology and AGB mass-loss rate are correlated. These characteristics can be explained by binary interaction. We propose an evolutionary scenario for AGB morphologies that is consistent with observed phenomena in AGB stars and PNe.
Context.
Water is a key molecule in the physics and chemistry of star and planet formation, but it is difficult to observe from Earth. The
Herschel
Space Observatory provided unprecedented ...sensitivity as well as spatial and spectral resolution to study water. The Water In Star-forming regions with
Herschel
(WISH) key program was designed to observe water in a wide range of environments and provide a legacy data set to address its physics and chemistry.
Aims.
The aim of WISH is to determine which physical components are traced by the gas-phase water lines observed with
Herschel
and to quantify the excitation conditions and water abundances in each of these components. This then provides insight into how and where the bulk of the water is formed in space and how it is transported from clouds to disks, and ultimately comets and planets.
Methods.
Data and results from WISH are summarized together with those from related open time programs. WISH targeted ~80 sources along the two axes of luminosity and evolutionary stage: from low- to high-mass protostars (luminosities from <1 to > 10
5
L
⊙
) and from pre-stellar cores to protoplanetary disks. Lines of H
2
O and its isotopologs, HDO, OH, CO, and O I, were observed with the HIFI and PACS instruments, complemented by other chemically-related molecules that are probes of ultraviolet, X-ray, or grain chemistry. The analysis consists of coupling the physical structure of the sources with simple chemical networks and using non-LTE radiative transfer calculations to directly compare models and observations.
Results.
Most of the far-infrared water emission observed with
Herschel
in star-forming regions originates from warm outflowing and shocked gas at a high density and temperature (> 10
5
cm
−3
, 300–1000 K,
v
~ 25 km s
−1
), heated by kinetic energy dissipation. This gas is not probed by single-dish low-
J
CO lines, but only by CO lines with
J
up
> 14. The emission is compact, with at least two different types of velocity components seen. Water is a significant, but not dominant, coolant of warm gas in the earliest protostellar stages. The warm gas water abundance is universally low: orders of magnitude below the H
2
O/H
2
abundance of 4 × 10
−4
expected if all volatile oxygen is locked in water. In cold pre-stellar cores and outer protostellar envelopes, the water abundance structure is uniquely probed on scales much smaller than the beam through velocity-resolved line profiles. The inferred gaseous water abundance decreases with depth into the cloud with an enhanced layer at the edge due to photodesorption of water ice. All of these conclusions hold irrespective of protostellar luminosity. For low-mass protostars, a constant gaseous HDO/H
2
O ratio of ~0.025 with position into the cold envelope is found. This value is representative of the outermost photodesorbed ice layers and cold gas-phase chemistry, and much higher than that of bulk ice. In contrast, the gas-phase NH
3
abundance stays constant as a function of position in low-mass pre- and protostellar cores. Water abundances in the inner hot cores are high, but with variations from 5 × 10
−6
to a few × 10
−4
for low- and high-mass sources. Water vapor emission from both young and mature disks is weak.
Conclusions.
The main chemical pathways of water at each of the star-formation stages have been identified and quantified. Low warm water abundances can be explained with shock models that include UV radiation to dissociate water and modify the shock structure. UV fields up to 10
2
−10
3
times the general interstellar radiation field are inferred in the outflow cavity walls on scales of the
Herschel
beam from various hydrides. Both high temperature chemistry and ice sputtering contribute to the gaseous water abundance at low velocities, with only gas-phase (re-)formation producing water at high velocities. Combined analyses of water gas and ice show that up to 50% of the oxygen budget may be missing. In cold clouds, an elegant solution is that this apparently missing oxygen is locked up in larger
μ
m-sized grains that do not contribute to infrared ice absorption. The fact that even warm outflows and hot cores do not show H
2
O at full oxygen abundance points to an unidentified refractory component, which is also found in diffuse clouds. The weak water vapor emission from disks indicates that water ice is locked up in larger pebbles early on in the embedded Class I stage and that these pebbles have settled and drifted inward by the Class II stage. Water is transported from clouds to disks mostly as ice, with no evidence for strong accretion shocks. Even at abundances that are somewhat lower than expected, many oceans of water are likely present in planet-forming regions. Based on the lessons for galactic protostars, the low-
J
H
2
O line emission (
E
up
< 300 K) observed in extragalactic sources is inferred to be predominantly collisionally excited and to originate mostly from compact regions of current star formation activity. Recommendations for future mid- to far-infrared missions are made.
Context. Betelgeuse is an M-type supergiant that presents a circularly polarized (Stokes V) signal in its line profiles, interpreted in terms of a surface magnetic field. Aims. The weak circular ...polarization signal has been monitored over 7.5 years in order to follow its evolution on different timescales, and eventually to determine its physical origin. Linear polarization measurements have also been obtained regularly in the last few years. Methods. We used both the ESPaDOnS and Narval spectropolarimeters to obtain high signal-to-noise ratio spectra, which were processed by means of the least-squares deconvolution method. In order to ensure the reality of the very weak circular polarization, special care has been taken to limit instrumental effects. In addition, several tests were performed on the Stokes V signal to establish its stellar and Zeeman origin. Results. We confirm the magnetic nature of the circular polarization, pointing to a surface magnetic field of the order of 1 G. The Stokes V profiles present variations over different timescales, the most prominent one being close to the long secondary period (LSP; around 2000 d for Betelgeuse) often invoked in red evolved stars. This long period is also dominant for all the other Stokes parameters. The circular polarization is tentatively modeled by means of magnetic field concentrations mimicking spots, showing in particular that the velocity associated with each “spot” also follows the long timescale, and that this signal is nearly always slightly redshifted. Conclusions. From the coupled variations of both linear and circular polarization signatures in amplitude, velocity and timescale, we favour giant convection cells as the main engine at the origin of polarization signatures and variations in all the Stokes parameters. This strengthens support for the hypothesis that large convective cells are at the origin of the LSP.
Context. During the transition from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) to planetary nebulae (PN), the circumstellar geometry and morphology change dramatically. Another characteristic of this ...transition is the high mass-loss rate, that can be partially explained by radiation pressure and a combination of various factors, such as the stellar pulsation, the dust grain condensation, and opacity in the upper atmosphere. The magnetic field can also be one of the main ingredients that shapes the stellar upper atmosphere and envelope. Aims. Our main goal is to investigate for the first time the spatial distribution of the magnetic field in the envelope of IRC+10216. More generally we intend to determine the magnetic field strength in the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of C-rich evolved stars, compare this field with previous studies for O-rich stars, and constrain the variation of the magnetic field with r the distance to the star’s centre. Methods. We use spectropolarimetric observations of the Stokes V parameter, collected with Xpol on the IRAM-30 m radiotelescope, observing the Zeeman effect in seven hyperfine components of the CN J = 1–0 line. We use the Crutcher et al. (1996, ApJ, 456, 217) method to estimate the magnetic field. For the first time, the instrumental contamination is investigated, through dedicated studies of the power patterns in Stokes V and I in detail. Results. For C-rich evolved stars, we derive a magnetic field strength (B) between 1.6 and 14.2 mG while B is estimated to be 6 mG for the proto-PN (PPN) AFGL618, and an upper value of 8 mG is found for the PN NGC 7027. These results are consistent with a decrease of B as 1/r in the environment of AGB objects, that is, with the presence of a toroidal field. But this is not the case for PPN and PN stars. Our map of IRC+10216 suggests that the magnetic field is not homogeneously strong throughout or aligned with the envelope and that the morphology of the CN emission might have changed with time.
Context. High-mass analogues of low-mass prestellar cores are searched for to constrain the models of high-mass star formation. Several high-mass cores, at various evolutionary stages, have been ...recently identified towards the massive star-forming region W43-MM1 and amongst them a high-mass prestellar core candidate. Aims. We aim to characterise the chemistry in this high-mass prestellar core candidate, referred to as W43-MM1 core #6, and its environment. Methods. Using ALMA high-spatial resolution data of W43-MM1, we have studied the molecular content of core #6 and a neighbouring high-mass protostellar core, referred to as #3, which is similar in size and mass to core #6. We first subtracted the continuum emission using a method based on the density distribution of the intensities on each pixel. Then, from the distribution of detected molecules, we identified the molecules centred on the prestellar core candidate (core #6) and those associated to shocks related to outflows and filament formation. Then we constrained the column densities and temperatures of the molecules detected towards the two cores. Results. While core #3 appears to contain a hot core with a temperature of about 190 K, core #6 seems to have a lower temperature in the range from 20 to 90 K from a rotational diagram analysis. We have considered different source sizes for core #6 and the comparison of the abundances of the detected molecules towards the core with various interstellar sources shows that it is compatible with a core of size 1000 au with T = 20−90 K or a core of size 500 au with T ~ 80 K. Conclusions. Core #6 of W43-MM1 remains one of the best high-mass prestellar core candidates even if we cannot exclude that it is at the very beginning of the protostellar phase of high-mass star formation.
The IRAM M 33 CO(2–1) survey Druard, C; Braine, J; Schuster, K F ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
07/2014, Letnik:
567
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
To study the interstellar medium and the interplay between the atomic and molecular components in a low-metallicity environment, we present a complete high angular and spectral resolution map and ...position-position-velocity data cube of the sup 12 CO(J = 2-1) emission from the Local Group galaxy Messier 33. Its metallicity is roughly half-solar, such that we can compare its interstellar medium with that of the Milky Way with the main changes being the metallicity and the gas mass fraction. Using the CO(2-1) emission to trace the molecular gas, the probability distribution function of the Hsub 2 column density shows an excess at high column density above a log-normal distribution.
The probability distribution function of column density (N-PDF) serves as a powerful tool to characterise the various physical processes that influence the structure of molecular clouds. Studies that ...use extinction maps or H2 column-density maps (N) that are derived from dust show that star-forming clouds can best be characterised by lognormal PDFs for the lower N range and a power-law tail for higher N, which is commonly attributed to turbulence and self-gravity and/or pressure, respectively. The slopes of the power-law tails of the CS, N2H+, and dust PDFs are -1.6, -1.4, and -2.3, respectively, and are thus consistent with free-fall collapse of filaments and clumps. A quasi static configuration of filaments and clumps can also possibly account for the observed N-PDFs, providing they have a sufficiently condensed density structure and external ram pressure by gas accretion is provided. The somehow flatter slopes of N2H+ and CS can reflect an abundance change and/or subthermal excitation at low column densities.
Massive stars have a major influence on their environment, yet their formation is difficult to study as they form quickly in highly obscured regions and are rare, hence more distant than lower mass ...stars. Westerhout 43 (W43) is a highly luminous galactic massive star-forming region at a distance of 5.5 kpc and the MM1 part hosts a particularly massive dense core (1000 M⊙ within 0.05 pc). We present new Herschel HIFI maps of the W43 MM1 region covering the main low-energy water lines at 557, 987, and 1113 GHz; their H218O counterparts; and other lines such as 13CO (10–9) and C18O (9–8), which trace warm gas. These water lines are, with the exception of line wings, observed in absorption. Herschel SPIRE and JCMT 450 μm data have been used to make a model of the continuum emission at the HIFI wavelengths. Analysis of the maps, and in particular the optical depth maps of each line and feature, shows that a velocity gradient, possibly due to rotation, is present in both the envelope (r ≳ 0.5 pc) and the protostellar core (r ≲ 0.2 pc). Velocities increase in both components from SW to NE, following the general source orientation. While the H2O lines trace essentially the cool envelope, we show that the envelope cannot account for the H218O absorption, which traces motions close to the protostar. The core has rapid infall, 2.9 km s-1, as manifested by the H218O absorption features which are systematically redshifted with respect to the 13CO (10–9) emission line which also traces the inner material with the same angular resolution. Some H218O absorption is detected outside the central core and thus outside the regions expected (from a spherical model) to be above 100 K; we attribute this to warm gas associated with the other massive dense cores in W43 MM1. Using the maps to identify absorption from cool gas on large scales, we subtract this component to model spectra for the inner envelope. Modeling the new, presumably corrected, spectra results in a lower water abundance, decreased from 8 × 10-8 to 8 × 10-9, with no change in infall rate.
Aims. We aim to investigate the physical and chemical properties of the molecular envelope of the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tau. Methods. We carried out a millimeter wavelength line survey between ~79 ...and 356GHz with the IRAM-30m telescope. We analysed the molecular lines detected in IK Tau using the population diagram technique to derive rotational temperatures and column densities. We conducted a radiative transfer analysis of the SO sub(2) lines, which also helped us to verify the validity of the approximated method of the population diagram for the rest of the molecules. Results. For the first time in this source we detected rotational lines in the ground vibrational state of HCO super(+), NS, NO, and H sub(2) CO, as well as several isotopologues of molecules previously identified, namely, C super(18) O, Si super(17) O, Si super(18) O, super(29) SiS, super(30) SiS, Si super(34) S, H super(13) CN, super(13) CS, C super(34) S, H sub(2) super(34) S, super(34) SO, and super(34) SO sub(2). We also detected several rotational lines in vibrationally excited states of SiS and SiO isotopologues, as well as rotational lines of H sub(2) O in the vibrationally excited state nu sub(2)= 2. We have also increased the number of rotational lines detected of molecules that were previously identified toward IK Tau, including vibrationally excited states, enabling a detailed study of the molecular abundances and excitation temperatures. In particular, we highlight the detection of NS and H sub(2) CO with fractional abundances of f(NS)~10 super(-8) and f(H sub(2) CO) ~ 10 super(-7)-10 super(-8). Most of the molecules display rotational temperatures between 15 and 40K. NaCl and SiS isotopologues display rotational temperatures higher than the average (~65K). In the case of SO sub(2) a warm component with T sub(rot)~ 290K is also detected. Conclusions. With a total of ~350 lines detected of 34 different molecular species (including different isotopologues), IK Tau displays a rich chemistry for an oxygen-rich circumstellar envelope. The detection of carbon bearing molecules like H sub(2) CO, as well as the discrepancies found between our derived abundances and the predictions from chemical models for some molecules, highlight the need for a revision of standard chemical models. We were able to identify at least two different emission components in terms of rotational temperatures. The warm component, which is mainly traced out by SO sub(2), is probably arising from the inner regions of the envelope (at ?8 R sub(?)) where SO sub(2) has a fractional abundance of f(SO sub(2)) ~ 10 super(-6). This result should be considered for future investigation of the main formation channels of this, and other, parent species in the inner winds of O-rich AGB stars, which at present are not well reproduced by current chemistry models.
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