Physical conditions near red giant and supergiant stars - an interpretation of SiO VLBI maps

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (44) References (32) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Physical conditions near red giant and supergiant stars : an interpretation of SiO VLBI maps. Alcock, Charles ; Ross, Randy R. Abstract Understanding the dynamical structure of circumstellar envelopes around cool giant and supergiant stars depends critically on the knowledge of what happens in the 'near zone' of the envelope, within a few stellar radii of the star. One probe with adequate angular resolution to study the near zone is VLBI observation of the SiO masers. It is shown that VLBI maps of VX Sgr establish that the particle density in the SiO masers is very high (about 10 to the 12th/cu cm), indicating that the masers form in dense cloudlets and not in a spherically expanding wind. The implications of these results for the mechanism of mass loss are discussed. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: November 1986 DOI: 10.1086/164737 Bibcode: 1986ApJ...310..838A Keywords: Red Giant Stars; Silicon Oxides; Stellar Envelopes; Supergiant Stars; Very Long Base Interferometry; Gas Density; Masers; Population Inversion; Radiative Transfer; Astrophysics full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (2)