June 2015 has been quite busy as I participated in two conferences:
- The Physics of Evolved Stars (Nice, France; June 8-12, 2015) – poster contribution
Title: “Disk tracing for B[e] supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds”
Abstract: “The B[e] supergiants are an important short-lived transition phase in the life of massive stars, in which enhanced mass-loss leads to a complex circumstellar environment containing atomic, molecular and dust regions of different temperatures and densities. A number of important emission features probe the structure and the kinematics of the circumstellar material. We focus on the [OI] and [CaII] emission lines in comparison to our previous work (Aret et al. 2012), which we further extend by doubling the number of B[e] supergiants studied.”
In this work we (myself, Michaela Kraus, and Anna Aret) presented our recent results obtained from FEROS observations on Magellanic B[e] Supergiants. We have identified the [CaII] lines in another 4 sources and along with other important disk tracers we show their spectra for the first time. Moreover, for a few number of sources we investigated their spectral variability and some results are under way.
A couple of photos of our (mine and Anna’s) posters follow:
- The 12th Hellenic Astronomical Conference (Thessaloniki, Greece; June 28 – July 2, 2015) – oral contribution
Title: “Tracing the disks around B[e] supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds”
Abstract: “Massive stars affect strongly the insterstellar medium through their intense stellar winds, which transfer momentum and energy to the interstellar medium and enrich it with chemically processed material as they evolve. This interaction becomes substantial in short-lived transition phases of massive stars (e.g. B[e] supergiants, luminous blue variables, yellow hypergiants) in which mass-loss is more enhanced and usually eruptive. Since these phases are not well-understood and not predicted accurately by theory observations are needed in order to understand the complex circumstellar environment around these stars.
In particular, B[e] supergiants are often surrounded by rings or disk-like structures, combining atomic, molecular and dust regions of different temperatures and densities. Using high-resolution optical spectra, obtained with the FEROS instrument mounted at the MPG/ESO 2.2m telescope, we examine a number of important emission features which probe the structure and the kinematics of their circumstellar environment. We investigate the [OI] and [CaII] emission lines in comparison to our previous work (Aret et al. 2012), which we further extend by doubling the number of B[e]SG studied in the Magellanic Clouds.”Well, even though it is almost the same subject I did have the opportunity to discuss it with a totally different audience. Moreover, we had time to work on some kinematical modelling of the line profiles for which I presented some preliminary results.
There are no photos to follow (even though I carried my camera and there were so many smart phones!).
