Water Masers Around the Supergiant IK Tau

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

We present VLBI maps of the H2O maser emission from the circumstellar shell of the supergiant star IK Tau. These observations are preliminary results of a study of H2O, OH and SiO masers associated with seven supergiant stars. Masing regions exist in these stars due to their large mass loss rates and the physical conditions in the circumstellar shells. Each species is observed at distances from the central star which are inversely proportional to the excitation energy of the masing level. Hence, the SiO regions, with an excitation energy around 1800K, lie close to the star's photosphere and the OH regions with an excitation energy of a few K reside further out. The high resolution obtained with VLBI studies enables accurate location of the masing regions in the circumstellar shell. Observations at different epochs provide the transverse and radial velocities of the maser spots. The transverse and radial velocities provide kinematic information about the masing regions. In addition epochal observations provide lifetimes of individual maser spots. Studies of the three masing species over several epochs will provide fundamental information on the physical and kinematic conditions in the circumstellar shells of these stars.

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