Epsilon Aurigae's dark side: A thermal phase curve investigation of the near-eclipse phases
Abstract
The epsilon Aurigae disk-eclipsing binary system moves through a primary eclipse that lasts just over two years and occurs every 27.1-years. It comprises of a warm F0Ia-star (around 7750 K) and an opaque, circumstellar disk hiding an internal B-star (with a temperature greater than 15,000 K). We present new infrared observations from Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC, at 3.6 and 4.5 microns) and The Aerospace Corporation’s Broadband Array Spectrograph System (BASS, a 116-element prism system spectrograph spanning 3 - 14 microns) in order to extract the thermal signature of the disk. Previous findings indicate a variable temperature of the disk, depending on its location within the system’s orbit: a 550 +\- 50 K temperature was identified during eclipse phases, while a 1150 +\- 50 K temperature was found near secondary—or anti-eclipse—phases by Hoard et al. (2010) and Hoard et al. (2012). We use the latest observations in combination with previously published IRAC and BASS data to compile a more complete thermal phase curve (TPC) of the disk across nearly one-third of the system’s orbit. The TPC indicates heating and cooling effects of the disk, pointing to specific ranges of material properties and disk structure. The observations, process, results, and implications will be presented.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #230
- Pub Date:
- June 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AAS...23020104P