Dataset Information

Interferometric observations of SiO thermal emission in the inner wind of M-type AGB stars IK Tauri and IRC+10011.

ABSTRACT: Context:Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars go through a process of strong mass loss that involves pulsations of the atmosphere, which extends to a region in which the conditions are adequate for dust grains to form. Radiation pressure acts on these grains which, coupled to the gas, drive a massive outflow. The details of this process are not clear, including which molecules are involved in the condensation of dust grains. Aims:We seek to study the role of the SiO molecule in the process of dust formation and mass loss in M-type AGB stars. Methods:Using the IRAM NOEMA interferometer we observed the 28SiO and 29SiO J = 3 - 2, v = 0 emission from the inner circumstellar envelope of the evolved stars IK Tau and IRC+10011. We computed azimuthally averaged emission profiles to compare the observations to models using a molecular excitation and ray-tracing code for SiO thermal emission. Results:We observe circular symmetry in the emission distribution. We also find that the source diameter varies only marginally with radial velocity, which is not the expected behaviour for envelopes expanding at an almost constant velocity. The adopted density, velocity, and abundance laws, together with the mass-loss rate, which best fit the observations, give us information concerning the chemical behaviour of the SiO molecule and its role in the dust formation process. Conclusions:The results indicate that there is a strong coupling between the depletion of gas-phase SiO and gas acceleration in the inner envelope. This could be explained by the condensation of SiO into dust grains.

SUBMITTER: Verbena JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6542683 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interferometric observations of SiO thermal emission in the inner wind of M-type AGB stars IK Tauri and IRC+10011.

Verbena J L JL Bujarrabal V V Alcolea J J Gómez-Garrido M M Castro-Carrizo A A

Astronomy and astrophysics 20190419

<h4>Context</h4>Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars go through a process of strong mass loss that involves pulsations of the atmosphere, which extends to a region in which the conditions are adequate for dust grains to form. Radiation pressure acts on these grains which, coupled to the gas, drive a massive outflow. The details of this process are not clear, including which molecules are involved in the condensation of dust grains.<h4>Aims</h4>We seek to study the role of the SiO molecule in the ...[more]

PMID: 31156253

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Project description:During their late pulsating phase, AGB stars expel most of their mass in the form of massive dusty envelopes, an event that largely controls the composition of interstellar matter. The envelopes, however, are distant and opaque to visible and NIR radiation: their structure remains poorly known and the mass-loss process poorly understood. Millimeter-wave interferometry, which combines the advantages of longer wavelength, high angular resolution and very high spectral resolution is the optimal investigative tool for this purpose. Mm waves pass through dust with almost no attenuation. Their spectrum is rich in molecular lines and hosts the fundamental lines of the ubiquitous CO molecule, allowing a tomographic reconstruction of the envelope structure. The circumstellar envelope IRC +10 216 and its central star, the C-rich TP-AGB star closest to the Sun, are the best objects for such an investigation. Two years ago, we reported the first detailed study of the CO(2-1) line emission in that envelope, made with the IRAM 30-m telescope. It revealed a series of dense gas shells, expanding at a uniform radial velocity. The limited resolution of the telescope (HPBW 11″) did not allow us to resolve the shell structure. We now report much higher angular resolution observations of CO(2-1), CO(1-0), CN(2-1) and C4H(24-23) made with the SMA, PdB and ALMA interferometers (with synthesized half-power beamwidths of 3″, 1″ and 0.3″, respectively). Although the envelope appears much more intricate at high resolution than with an 11″ beam, its prevailing structure remains a pattern of thin, nearly concentric shells. The average separation between the brightest CO shells is 16″ in the outer envelope, where it appears remarkably constant. Closer to the star (< 40″), the shell pattern is denser and less regular, showing intermediary arcs. Outside the small (r < 0.3″) dust formation zone, the gas appears to expand radially at a constant velocity, 14.5 km s-1, with small turbulent motions. Based on that property, we have reconstructed the 3-D structure of the outer envelope and have derived the gas temperature and density radial profiles in the inner (r < 25″) envelope. The shell-intershell density contrast is found to be typically 3. The over-dense shells have spherical or slightly oblate shapes and typically extend over a few steradians, implying isotropic mass loss. The regular spacing of shells in the outer envelope supports the model of a binary star system with a period of 700 years and a near face-on elliptical orbit. The companion fly-by triggers enhanced episodes of mass loss near periastron. The densification of the shell pattern observed in the central part of the envelope suggests a more complex scenario for the last few thousand years.

Project description:Infrared and (sub-)mm observations of disks around T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be stars point to a chemical differentiation between both types of disks, with a lower detection rate of molecules in disks around hotter stars.To investigate the underlying causes of the chemical differentiation indicated by observations we perform a comparative study of the chemistry of T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be disks. This is one of the first studies to compare chemistry in the outer regions of these two types of disks.We developed a model to compute the chemical composition of a generic protoplanetary disk, with particular attention to the photochemistry, and applied it to a T Tauri and a Herbig Ae/Be disk. We compiled cross sections and computed photodissociation and photoionization rates at each location in the disk by solving the FUV radiative transfer in a 1+1D approach using the Meudon PDR code and adopting observed stellar spectra.The warmer disk temperatures and higher ultraviolet flux of Herbig stars compared to T Tauri stars induce some differences in the disk chemistry. In the hot inner regions, H2O, and simple organic molecules like C2H2, HCN, and CH4 are predicted to be very abundant in T Tauri disks and even more in Herbig Ae/Be disks, in contrast with infrared observations that find a much lower detection rate of water and simple organics toward disks around hotter stars. In the outer regions, the model indicates that the molecules typically observed in disks, like HCN, CN, C2H, H2CO, CS, SO, and HCO+, do not have drastic abundance differences between T Tauri and Herbig Ae disks. Some species produced under the action of photochemistry, like C2H and CN, are predicted to have slightly lower abundances around Herbig Ae stars due to a narrowing of the photochemically active layer. Observations indeed suggest that these radicals are somewhat less abundant in Herbig Ae disks, although in any case the inferred abundance differences are small, of a factor of a few at most. A clear chemical differentiation between both types of disks concerns ices. Owing to the warmer temperatures of Herbig Ae disks, one expects snowlines lying farther away from the star and a lower mass of ices compared to T Tauri disks.The global chemical behavior of T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be disks is quite similar. The main differences are driven by the warmer temperatures of the latter, which result in a larger reservoir or water and simple organics in the inner regions and a lower mass of ices in the outer disk.

Dataset Information

Interferometric observations of SiO thermal emission in the inner wind of M-type AGB stars IK Tauri and IRC+10011.

Publications

Interferometric observations of SiO thermal emission in the inner wind of M-type AGB stars IK Tauri and IRC+10011.

Similar Datasets

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