Mapping the Chromosphere of the K Supergiant in the Eclipsing Binary 31 Cygni

Details Mapping the Chromosphere of the K Supergiant in the Eclipsing Binary 31 Cygni Mapping the Chromosphere of the K Supergiant in the Eclipsing Binary 31 Cygni

Jul 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001hst..prop.9109b&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9109

Physics

Hst Proposal Id #9109 Cold Stars

Scientific paper

Red supergiants {RSGs} are responsible for returning the greatest contribution of mass to the ISM, but this mass loss process, can not be modeled in a fundamental way because the physical mechanism responsible remains uncertain. This difficulty has profound implications for stellar population sythesis and galactic evolution. We propose to address this problem by observing the chromosphere and wind of the supergiant primary in the long-period {10.36 yr} eclipsing binary 31 Cygni. This binary has the largest orbital separation relative to primary size {and the least interaction} of the known Zeta Aur binaries. The next eclipse in 2003 will be the last available during the lifetime of HST; if this project is to be done at all, it must be started now. We will obtain STIS NUV and FUV observations of 31 Cyg {K4 Ib + B4 V}, using the hot companion to probe the thermodynamic state of the supergiant's chromosphere and wind. Our objective is to construct an empirical model of the outer atmosphere to constrain theoretical mechanisms of wind acceleration. A major secondary goal is to determine accurate stellar and orbital parameters for the 31 Cyg binary. These data will permit direct comparison of the individual stars' positions in the H- R diagram with evolutionary model tracks and will constrain the physics of mass loss and core mixing in RSGs.

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