Radio detection of Luminous Blue Variable nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds
Abstract
A Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) represents a crucial phase of the post-Main Sequence evolution of a massive star, during which it loses most of its mass through stellar winds and/or eruptions, forming nebulae of ionised gas and dust. The main mechanism responsible for the mass-loss in these stars has not been established, but the possibility that it is independent of metallicity is of paramount importance to LBVs occurred in the metal-poor early Universe. A way to answer this question is to analyse the circumstellar matter around LBVs in different environments, as these ejecta contain fundamental information about the mass-loss suffered by the star. Different studies of LBV nebulae have been conducted in our Galaxy, but for this class of objects there is a surprising paucity of data in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). The main goal of this work is, hence, to derive the mass-loss history of a statistical meaningful sample of LBVs in the MCs and to compare its properties with those of galactic LBVs. Therefore we propose radio observations of 10 LBVs in the MCs, aimed at detecting for first time their associated nebulae. These observations will allow us to derive important physical properties of LBVs, such as: mass lost during the LBV phase, kinematical age, morphology and density of the associated nebula. These quantities, compared with those of galactic LBVs, will allow us to determine if the mass-loss phenomenon occurs independently of the metallicity.
- Publication:
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ATNF Proposal
- Pub Date:
- October 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014atnf.prop.6381A
- Keywords:
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- late stages of stellar evolution (excluding pulsars and supernovae);
- ATCA