skip to main content


This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2025

Title: Reconstructing the near- to mid-infrared environment in the stellar merger remnant V838 Monocerotis

Context.V838 Mon is a stellar merger remnant that erupted in a luminous red nova event in 2002. Although it has been well studied in the optical, near-infrared, and submillimeter regimes, its structure in the mid-infrared wavelengths remains elusive. Over the past two decades, only a handful of infrared interferometric studies have been performed, suggesting the presence of an elongated structure at multiple wavelengths. However, given the limited nature of these observations, the true morphology of the source has not yet been conclusively determined.

Aims.By performing image reconstruction using observations taken at the VLTI and CHARA, we aim to map out the circumstellar environment in V838 Mon.

Methods.We observed V838 Mon with the MATISSE (LMNbands) and GRAVITY (Kband) instruments at the VLTI as well as the MIRCX/MYSTIC (HKbands) instruments at the CHARA array. We geometrically modelled the squared visibilities and the closure phases in each of the bands to obtain the constraints on the physical parameters. Furthermore, we constructed high-resolution images of V838 Mon in theHKbands using the MIRA and SQUEEZE algorithms to study the immediate surroundings of the star. Lastly, we also modelled the spectral features seen in theKandMbands at various temperatures.

Results.The image reconstructions show a bipolar structure that surrounds the central star in the post-merger remnant. In theKband, the super-resolved images show an extended structure (uniform disk diameter ~1.94 mas) with a clumpy morphology that is aligned along a north-west position angle (PA) of −40°. On the other hand, in theHband, the extended structure (uniform disk diameter ~1.18 mas) lies roughly along the same PA. Yet the northern lobe is slightly misaligned with respect to the southern lobe, which results in the closure phase deviations.

Conclusions.The VLTI and CHARA imaging results show that V838 Mon is surrounded by features resembling jets that are intrinsically asymmetric. This is further confirmed by the closure phase modelling. Further observations with VLTI can help to determine whether this structure shows any variations over time and also if such bi-polar structures are commonly formed in other stellar merger remnants.

 
more » « less
Award ID(s):
2034336 1909165
PAR ID:
10536136
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Volume:
686
ISSN:
0004-6361
Page Range / eLocation ID:
A260
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    We use the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging telescope Array System (VERITAS) imaging air Cherenkov telescope array to obtain the first measured angular diameter ofβUMa at visual wavelengths using stellar intensity interferometry (SII) and independently constrain the limb-darkened angular diameter. The age of the Ursa Major moving group has been assessed from the ages of its members, including nuclear member Merak (βUMa), an A1-type subgiant, by comparing effective temperature and luminosity constraints to model stellar evolution tracks. Previous interferometric limb-darkened angular-diameter measurements ofβUMa in the near-infrared (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array, 1.149 ± 0.014 mas) and mid-infrared (Keck Nuller, 1.08 ± 0.07 mas), together with the measured parallax and bolometric flux, have constrained the effective temperature. This paper presents current VERITAS-SII observation and analysis procedures to derive squared visibilities from correlation functions. We fit the resulting squared visibilities to find a limb-darkened angular diameter of 1.07 ± 0.04 (stat) ± 0.05 (sys) mas, using synthetic visibilities from a stellar atmosphere model that provides a good match to the spectrum ofβUMa in the optical wave band. The VERITAS-SII limb-darkened angular diameter yields an effective temperature of 9700 ± 200 ± 200 K, consistent with ultraviolet spectrophotometry, and an age of 390 ± 29 ± 32 Myr, using MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks. This age is consistent with 408 ± 6 Myr from the CHARA Array angular diameter.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    Massive evolved stars such as red supergiants and hypergiants are potential progenitors of Type II supernovae, and they are known for ejecting substantial amounts of matter, up to half their initial mass, during their final evolutionary phases. The rate and mechanism of this mass loss play a crucial role in determining their ultimate fate and the likelihood of their progression to supernovae. However, the exact mechanisms driving this mass ejection have long been a subject of research. Recent observations, such as the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse, have suggested that the activity of large convective cells, combined with pulsation, could be a plausible explanation for such mass-loss events. In this context, we conducted interferometric observations of the famous yellow hypergiant,ρCassiopeiae using the CHARA Array inH-andK-band wavelengths.ρCas is well known for its recurrent eruptions, characterized by periods of visual dimming (∼1.5–2 mag) followed by recovery. From our observations, we derived the diameter of the limb-darkened disk and found that this star has a radius of 1.04 ± 0.01 mas, or 564–700R. We performed image reconstructions with three different image reconstruction software packages, and they unveiled the presence of giant hot and cold spots on the stellar surface. We interpret these prominent hot spots as giant convection cells, suggesting a possible connection to mass ejections from the star’s envelope. Furthermore, we detected spectral CO emission lines in theKband (λ= 2.31–2.38μm), and the image reconstructions in these spectral lines revealed an extended circumstellar envelope with a radius of 1.45 ± 0.10 mas.

     
    more » « less
  3. Context. The surface brightness – color relationship (SBCR) is a poweful tool for determining the angular diameter of stars from photometry. It was for instance used to derive the distance of eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which led to its distance determination with an accuracy of 1%. Aims. We calibrate the SBCR for red giant stars in the 2.1 ≤ V − K ≤ 2.5 color range using homogeneous VEGA/CHARA interferometric data secured in the visible domain, and compare it to the relation based on infrared interferometric observations, which were used to derive the distance to the LMC. Methods. Observations of eight G–K giants were obtained with the VEGA/CHARA instrument. The derived limb-darkened angular diameters were combined with a homogeneous set of infrared magnitudes in order to constrain the SBCR. Results. The average precision we obtain on the limb-darkened angular diameters of the eight stars in our sample is 2.4%. For the four stars in common observed by both VEGA/CHARA and PIONIER/VLTI, we find a 1 σ agreement for the angular diameters. The SBCR we obtain in the visible has a dispersion of 0.04 magnitude and is consistent with the one derived in the infrared (0.018 magnitude). Conclusions. The consistency of the infrared and visible angular diameters and SBCR reinforces the result of 1% precision and accuracy recently achieved on the distance of the LMC using the eclipsing-binary technique. It also indicates that it is possible to combine interferometric observations at different wavelengths when the SBCR is calibrated. 
    more » « less
  4. Mérand, Antoine ; Sallum, Stephanie ; Sanchez-Bermudez, Joel (Ed.)
    The Michigan Young STar Imager at CHARA (MYSTIC) is a K-band interferometric beam combining instrument funded by the United States National Science Foundation, designed primarily for imaging sub-au scale disk structures around nearby young stars and to probe the planet formation process. Installed at the CHARA array in July 2021, with baselines up to 331 meters, MYSTIC provides a maximum angular resolution of λ/2B ∼ 0.7 mas. The instrument injects phase corrected light from the array into inexpensive, single-mode, polarization maintaining silica fibers, which are then passed via a vacuum feedthrough into a cryogenic dewar operating at 220 K for imaging. MYSTIC utilizes a high frame rate, ultra-low read noise SAPHIRA detector, and implements two beam combiners: a 6-telescope image plane beam combiner, based on the MIRC-X design, for targets as faint as 7.7 Kmag, as well as a 4-telescope integrated optic beam-combiner mode using a spare chip leftover from the GRAVITY instrument. MYSTIC is co-phased with the MIRC-X (J+H band) instrument for simultaneous fringe-tracking and imaging, and shares its software suite with the latter to allow a single observer to operate both instruments. Herein, we present the instrument design, review its operational performance, present early commissioning science observations, and propose upgrades to the instrument that could improve its K-band sensitivity to 10th magnitude in the near future. 
    more » « less
  5. null (Ed.)
    Context. FU Orionis is the archetypal FUor star, a subclass of young stellar objects (YSOs) that undergo rapid brightening events, often gaining between four and six magnitudes on timescales of days. This brightening is often associated with a massive increase in accretion, which is one of the most ubiquitous processes in astrophysics for bodies ranging from planets and stars to super-massive black holes. We present multi-band interferometric observations of the FU Ori circumstellar environment, including the first J -band interferometric observations of a YSO. Aims. We investigate the morphology and temperature gradient of the innermost regions of the accretion disk around FU Orionis. We aim to characterise the heating mechanisms of the disk and comment on potential outburst-triggering processes. Methods. Recent upgrades to the MIRC-X instrument at the CHARA array have allowed for the first dual-band J and H observations of YSOs. Using baselines up to 331 m, we present high-angular-resolution data of a YSO covering the near-infrared bands J , H , and K . The unprecedented spectral range of the data allowed us to apply temperature gradient models to the innermost regions of FU Ori. Results. We spatially resolved the innermost astronomical unit of the disk and determine the exponent of the temperature gradient of the inner disk to T ∝ r −0.74 ± 0.02 . This agrees with theoretical works that predict T ∝ r −0.75 for actively accreting, steady-state disks, which is a value only obtainable through viscous heating within the disk. We found a disk that extends down to the stellar surface at 0.015 ± 0.007 au, where the temperature is found to be 5800 ± 700 K. We found a disk inclined at 32 ± 4° with a minor-axis position angle of 34 ± 11°. Conclusions. We demonstrate that J -band interferometric observations of YSOs are feasible with the MIRC-X instrument at CHARA. The temperature gradient power-law derived for the inner disk is consistent with theoretical predictions for steady-state, optically thick, viciously heated accretion disks. 
    more » « less