Eta Carinae: What we have learned from HST/STIS in the UV

Details Eta Carinae: What we have learned from HST/STIS in the UV Eta Carinae: What we have learned from HST/STIS in the UV

Aug 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006iaujd...4e..13g&link_type=abstract

The Ultraviolet Universe: Stars from Birth to Death, 26th meeting of the IAU, Joint Discussion 4, 16-17 August 2006, Prague, Cze

Computer Science

Scientific paper

The Luminous Blue Variable, Eta Carinae is revealing many answers to its mysteries by high spatial resolution in the visible and the ultraviolet. Studies with the STIS from 1998.0 to 2004.3 show major changes in the stellar and nebular spectra that track with the 2024-day period first noted by A. Damineli in the visible and followed by M. Corcoran via RXTE X-Ray monitoring. We will show examples of the stellar and nebular spectra indicating changes in the central source, likely a massive binary system and indicating the response of the nebular ejecta, which is the >12 solar mass Homunculus, the 1/2 solar mass Little Homunculus, both bipolar structures, with intervening skirts. Within the interior skirt are located the Weigelt blobs, B, C and D, plus the Strontium Filament, all of which respond to the strong UV emission originating from the hot, less massive companion. Narrow-line absorption systems correlate with the Homunculus and Little Homunculus and are seen in hundreds of metal lines. For the Homunculus, the metal energy level populations correspond to 760K, but the OH, CH, NH and CH+ to 60K, while nearly a thousand H_2 lines are visible during the broad maximum. The Little Homunculus has a kinetic temperature of ~6400K during the broad maximum, but drops to 5000K during the short minimum. Much is being learned about the N-rich, C,O-poor chemistry of this ejecta from a massive star in the late stages of CNO-processing. Recent GRB spectra show similar hot metal absorption gases likely being the ejecta from progenitor stars. Were they WRs?

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