Identification of VO (X4β) in the envelope of VY Cma: A new circumstellar molecule
Bernal, Jacob
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/104414
Description
Title
Identification of VO (X4β) in the envelope of VY Cma: A new circumstellar molecule
Author(s)
Bernal, Jacob
Contributor(s)
Humphreys, Roberta M.
Ziurys, Lucy M.
Issue Date
2019-06-19
Keyword(s)
Astronomy
Abstract
We have confirmed a new circumstellar molecule, VO, observed in the envelope of the supergiant star, VY Canis Majoris, using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with its Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). The molecule, a free radical, was detected in two clumps in the ejecta of this star via its B-X electronic transition in the near-infrared. The spectra are clearly circumstellar as the lines are significantly red-shifted from the stellar velocity, and arise from material 40-50 R* from the star. Wallerstein had identified some of the observed lines previously towards VY CMa; our data prove their spatial location. The VO lines are likely excited by resonant scattering from the star through a hole in the dusty shell.
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