ATOMIUM: The astounding complexity of the near circumstellar environment of the M-type AGB star R Hydrae: I. Morpho-kinematical interpretation of CO and SiO emission

Ward Homan, Bannawit Pimpanuwat, Fabrice Herpin, Taissa Danilovich, Iain McDonald, Sofia H.J. Wallström, Anita M.S. Richards, Alain Baudry, Raghvendra Sahai, Tom J. Millar, Alex De Koter, C. A. Gottlieb, Pierre Kervella, Miguel Montargès, Marie Van De Sande, Leen Decin, Albert Zijlstra, Sandra Etoka, Manali Jeste, Holger S.P. MüllerSilke Maes, Jolien Malfait, Karl Menten, John Plane, Kelvin Lee, Rens Waters, Ka Tat Wong, Eric Lagadec, David Gobrecht, Jeremy Yates, Daniel Price, Emily Cannon, Jan Bolte, Frederik De Ceuster, Joe Nuth, Jan Philip Sindel, Dylan Kee, Malcolm D. Gray, Ileyk El Mellah

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Abstract

Evolved low- to intermediate-mass stars are known to shed their gaseous envelope into a large, dusty, molecule-rich circumstellar nebula which typically develops a high degree of structural complexity. Most of the large-scale, spatially correlated structures in the nebula are thought to originate from the interaction of the stellar wind with a companion. As part of the ATOMIUM large programme, we observed the M-type asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star R Hydrae with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. The morphology of the inner wind of R Hya, which has a known companion at ∼3500 au, was determined from maps of CO and SiO obtained at high angular resolution. A map of the CO emission reveals a multi-layered structure consisting of a large elliptical feature at an angular scale of ∼10″ that is oriented along the north-south axis. The wind morphology within the elliptical feature is dominated by two hollow bubbles. The bubbles are on opposite sides of the AGB star and lie along an axis with a position angle of ∼115°. Both bubbles are offset from the central star, and their appearance in the SiO channel maps indicates that they might be shock waves travelling through the AGB wind. An estimate of the dynamical age of the bubbles yields an age of the order of 100 yr, which is in agreement with the previously proposed elapsed time since the star last underwent a thermal pulse. When the CO and SiO emission is examined on subarcsecond angular scales, there is evidence for an inclined, differentially rotating equatorial density enhancement, strongly suggesting the presence of a second nearby companion. The position angle of the major axis of this disc is ∼70° in the plane of the sky. We tentatively estimate that a lower limit on the mass of the nearby companion is ∼0.65 Mpdbl on the basis of the highest measured speeds in the disc and the location of its inner rim at ∼6 au from the AGB star.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberA82
Number of pages19
JournalAstronomy & Astrophysics
Volume651
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jul 2021

Keywords

  • Circumstellar matter
  • Stars: AGB and post-AGB
  • Submillimeter: stars

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