The radio source around Eta Carinae

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (39) References (30) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Radio Source around eta Carinae White, S. M. ; Duncan, R. A. ; Lim, J. ; Nelson, G. J. ; Drake, S. A. ; Kundu, M. R. Abstract We present high spatial resolution radio observations of the peculiar southern star Eta Carinae, made with the Australian Telescope. The images, at 8 and 9 GHz with a resolution of 1.0 arcsec show a source of dimension 10 arcsec and total flux of 0.7 Jy dominated by a strong central peak. The radio emission is unpolarized and offers no support to models which invoke degenerate stars or more exotic objects within the core of Eta Car. In these data we find no evidence for more than one energy source in the core with arcsecond separations as some infrared observations have suggested. Several levels of structure are evident in the radio image, which shows symmetry on the larger scales. Conventional formulae for stellar wind radio sources give a mass loss rate of order 3 x 10-4 Solar Mass/yr based on the radio flux in the central peak, which yields a wind momentum flux of order 20% of the momentum flux available from the star's radiation field. The radio emission at these frequencies is consistent with thermal emission from gas flowing away from a 'luminous blue variable' star (LBV) Eta Car is probably the brightest thermal stellar wind radio source in the sky. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: July 1994 DOI: 10.1086/174327 Bibcode: 1994ApJ...429..380W Keywords: Radio Stars; Stellar Envelopes; Stellar Winds; Supergiant Stars; Thermal Diffusion; Blue Stars; Luminous Intensity; Mass Flow; Variable Stars; Astronomy; RADIO CONTINUUM: STARS; STARS: CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER; STARS: INDIVIDUAL CONSTELLATION NAME: ETA CARINAE; STARS: SUPERGIANTS full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (1)