Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21743419m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #434.19; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We present the discovery of an infrared nebula around the Cepheid prototype delta Cephei. Large scale ( 0.1 pc) nebulosity is detected at 5.8, 8.0, 24 and 70 micron with Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS observations. Surrounding the two stars, the 5.8 and 8.0 micron emission is largely attributable to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) swept from the interstellar medium by a wind originating from delta Cephei and its companion. Stochastically heated small dust grains, at least in part condensed in the delta Cephei wind, are the most likely source of the 24 and 70 micron emission. The 70 micron emission, in particular, resembles a bow shock aligned in the direction of the space velocity of delta Cephei with respect to the local interstellar medium. This discovery is the first direct determination of mass loss from a Cepheid star. The mass loss rate is in the range 5x10^-9 to 6x10^-8 Mo/yr, which has important implications for the still unsolved "Cepheids mass loss discrepancy” and for the cosmic distance scale as calibrated with the Cepheid period-luminosity relation.
This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope operated by JPL/Caltech under NASA contract. We also acknowledge support from the Chandra X-ray Center, the NSF REU program and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Barmby Pauline
Bono Giuseppe
Fazio Giacomo
Huelsman D.
Marengo Massimo
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