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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
On the distance, reddening and progenitor of V838 Mon
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 434, No. 3, Year 2005
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Description
Extensive optical and infrared photometry as well as low and high resolution spectroscopy are used as inputs in deriving robust estimates of the reddening, distance and nature of the progenitor of V838 Mon, the 2002 outbursting event that produced a most spectacular light-echo. The reddening affecting V838 Mon is found to obey the Rv = 3.1 law and amounts to (i) EB-V = 0.86 from the interstellar Nal and KI lines; (11) E B-V = 0.88 from the energy distribution of the B3 V component; and (iii) EB-V = 0.87 from the progression of extinction along the line of sight. The adopted EB-V = 0.87 ± 0.01 is also the amount required by fitting the progenitor with theoretical isochrones of appropriate metallicity. The distance is estimated from (a) the galactic kinematics of the three components of the interstellar lines; (b) the amount of extinction vs. the HI column density and vs. the dust emission through the whole Galaxy in that direction; from (c) spectrophotometric parallax to the B3 V companion; from (d) comparison of the observed color-magnitude diagram of field stars with 3D stellar population models of the Galaxy; from (e) comparison of theoretical isochrones with the components of the binary system in quiescence and found to be around 10 kpc. Pre-outburst optical and IR energy distributions show that the component erupting in 2002 was brighter and hotter than the B3 V companion. The best fit is obtained for a 50 000 K source, 0.5 mag brighter than the B3 V companion. The latter passed unaffected through the outburst, which implies an orbital separation wide enough to avoid mass exchange during the evolution of the binary system, and to allow a safe comparison with theoretical isochrones for single stars. Such a comparison suggests that the progenitor of the outbursting component had an initial mass ∼65 M⊙, that it was approaching the carbon ignition stage in its core at the time it erupted in 2002 and that the age of the V838 Mon binary system is close to 4 million yr. The 2002 event is probably just a shell thermonuclear event in the outer envelope of the star. © ESO 2005.
Authors & Co-Authors
Munari, Ulisse
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Henden, Arne A.
United States, Columbia
Universities Space Research Association
Vallenari, Antonella
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Bond, Howard E.
United States, Baltimore
Space Telescope Science Institute
Corradi, Romano L.M.
Spain, Santa Cruz de la Palma
Isaac Newton Group
Crause, Lisa A.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
Desidera, Silvano
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Giro, Enrico
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Marrese, P. M.
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Ragaini, S.
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Siviero, Alessandro
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Sordo, Rosanna
Italy, Padua
Osservatorio Astronomico Di Padova
Starrfield, Sumner G.
United States, Tempe
Arizona State University
Tomov, Toma V.
Poland, Torun
Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
Villanova, S.
Italy, Padua
Università Degli Studi Di Padova
Zwitter, Tomaž
Slovenia, Ljubljana
Univerza V Ljubljani
Wagner, Ryan Mark
United States, Tucson
The University of Arizona
Statistics
Citations: 17
Authors: 17
Affiliations: 10
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1051/0004-6361:20041751
ISSN:
00046361
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study