Resolving the kinematics of the discs around Galactic B[e] supergiants
Abstract
B[e] supergiants are luminous evolved massive stars. The mass-loss during this phase creates a complex circumstellar environment with atomic, molecular, and dusty regions usually found in rings or disc-like structures. For a better comprehension of the mechanisms behind the formation of these rings, detailed knowledge about their structure and dynamics is essential. To address that, we obtained high-resolution optical and near-infrared (near-IR) spectra for eight selected Galactic B[e] supergiants, for which CO emission has been detected. Assuming Keplerian rotation for the disc, we combine the kinematics obtained from the CO bands in the near-IR with those obtained by fitting the forbidden emission [O I] λ5577, [O I] λλ6300,6363, and [Ca II] λλ7291,7323 lines in the optical to probe the disc structure. We find that the emission originates from multiple ring structures around all B[e] supergiants, with each one of them displaying a unique combination of rings regardless of whether the object is part of a binary system. The confirmed binaries display spectroscopic variations of their line intensities and profiles as well as photometric variability, whereas the ring structures around the single stars are stable.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- October 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/sty1747
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1807.00796
- Bibcode:
- 2018MNRAS.480..320M
- Keywords:
-
- circumstellar matter;
- stars: early-type;
- stars: massive;
- supergiants;
- stars: winds;
- outflows;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 27 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables. Published in MNRAS. Minor corrections in this version: (a) adding references in the text to Fig. 6, tables A6 and A8, and footnote 5, (b) adding/modifying the acknowledgments section