Probing the Mass-Loss History of VY CMa

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

Mass loss plays a dominant role in the evolution of low mass stars while they are on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB). Recent studies have hinted towards the importance of time variability of the mass-loss rates of such objects. Likewise, more massive stars (MZAMS ⪆ 8 Msun) may pass through a red supergiant phase and lose mass in a similar manner. By modelling the full line profiles of low excitation CO transitions emitted in the circumstellar envelope (CSE), we have studied the mass-loss history of the well-studied supergiant VY CMa. We show that this source underwent a phase of high mass loss (˜ 2.8 × 10-4 Msun/yr) some 1000 yr ago, lasting some 100 yr, followed by a low mass-loss phase (˜ 1 × 10-6 Msun/yr) taking some 800 yr. The current mass-loss rate is estimated to be in the order of 1 × 10-4 Msun/yr.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Probing the Mass-Loss History of VY CMa does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Probing the Mass-Loss History of VY CMa, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Probing the Mass-Loss History of VY CMa will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-989286

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.