The mysterious eruption of V838 Mon

Munari, U.; Henden, A. A.; Kiyota, S.; Laney, D.; Marang, F.; Zwitter, T.; Corradi, R. L. M.; Desidera, S.; Marrese, P. M.; Giro, E.; Boschi, Federico; Schwartz, Matthew B.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20020715

Cited by 178 publications

(342 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…P Cygni observations of the outbursts and postoutburst velocity distributions by us and other groups have indicated a broad distribution of outflow velocities (Munari et al 2002b;Osiwala et al 2004;. However, the general consensus seems to favor a characteristic expansion velocity in the $100-400 km s À1 range.…”

Section: Derived Quantitiesmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Soker & Tylenda (2003) proposed a stellar merging event (see also Kato 2003), but this would seem untenable in view of the apparent recurrent ejection episodes evidenced by the HST imagery (Bond et al 2003). The similarities between V838 Mon's behavior and that of M31 RV (Rich et al 1989), V4334 Sgr (Evans, Smalley, & Kimeswenger 2002), and V4332 Sgr (Martini et al 1999) have been noted by several groups (Wagner et al 2002b;Kimeswenger et al 2002;Munari et al 2002b;Bond et al 2003). Retter & Marom (2003) suggest that the object's observed behavior could be explained by an expanding central red giant that enveloped three relatively massive planets in close orbits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…6 and 7), which are not included in the model. selected to be representative of the velocity spreads observed for a wide variety of P Cygni line profiles associated with all three outbursts (Munari et al 2002b;Osiwala et al 2004;. This velocity spread may arguably be on the low side.…”

Section: The 08-25 M Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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0.8–13 Micron Spectroscopy of V838 Monocerotis and a Model for Its Emission

Lynch

Rudy

Russell

et al. 2004

ApJ

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We report on the results of a number of infrared spectra (0.8-2.5, 2.1-4.6, and 3-14 m) of V838 Monocerotis, taken from a short time after discovery in 2002 January to about 14 months later, in early 2003. The spectrum evolved dramatically, changing from a quasi-photospheric stellar spectrum with weak atomic emission lines (some with P Cygni profiles) to one showing a wide range of deep absorption features indicative of a cool, extended atmosphere with a circumstellar dust shell. The early spectra showed lines of s-process elements, such as Sr ii and Ba i. The later spectra showed absorption by gaseous H 2 O, CO, AlO, TiO, SiO, SO 2 , OH, VO, and SH, as well as a complex of emission near 10 m reminiscent of silicate emission, with a central absorbing feature at 10:3 m. Thus, V838 Mon appears to be oxygen-rich. A simple, spherically symmetric model of the system involving a central star with a two-component expanding circumstellar shell is presented that is able to explain the major molecular features and spectral energy distribution in the object's late stages. The derived shell mass and distance are 0.04 M and 9.2 kpc, respectively.

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Section: Derived Quantitiesmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

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0.8–13 Micron Spectroscopy of V838 Monocerotis and a Model for Its Emission

Lynch

Rudy

Russell

et al. 2004

ApJ

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“…The powerful outburst of V838 Mon in 2002 (Munari et al 2002), accompanied by a spectacular light echo (Bond et al 2003), raised interest in a class of stellar eruptions named "red novae", "optical transients" or "V838 Mon type eruptions". These objects, which typically reach a maximum luminosity of ∼10 6 L , evolve to low effective temperatures and decline as Based on observations obtained with the 1.3-m Warsaw telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

V1309 Scorpii: merger of a contact binary

Tylenda

Hajduk

Kamiński

et al. 2011

A&A

418

599

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Context. Stellar mergers are expected to take place in numerous circumstences in the evolution of stellar systems. In particular, they are considered as a plausible origin of stellar eruptions of the V838 Mon type. V1309 Sco is the most recent eruption of this type in our Galaxy. The object was discovered in September 2008. Aims. Our aim is to investigate the nature of V1309 Sco. Methods. V1309 Sco has been photometrically observed in course of the OGLE project since August 2001. We analyse these observations in different ways. In particular, periodogram analyses were done to investigate the nature of the observed short-term variability of the progenitor. Results. We find that the progenitor of V1309 Sco was a contact binary with an orbital period of ∼1.4 day. This period was decreasing with time. The light curve of the binary was also evolving, indicating that the system evolved towards its merger. The violent phase of the merger, marked by the systematic brightenning of the object, began in March 2008, i.e. half a year before the outburst discovery. We also investigate the observations of V1309 Sco during the outburst and the decline and show that they can be fully accounted for within the merger hypothesis. Conclusions. For the first time in the literature we show from direct observations that contact binaries indeed end up by merging into a single object, as was suggested in numerous theoretical studies of these systems. Our study also shows that stellar mergers indeed result in eruptions of the V838 Mon type.

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“…It quickly evolved from K to M spectral types and after a month declined to a very late M-type giant. The object is now classified as a red transient of the V838 Mon type (Munari et al 2002;Tylenda et al 2005). As discussed by Tylenda & Soker (2006), thermonuclear mechanisms (classical nova, He-shell flash) cannot explain the observed outbursts of these objects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Optical spectropolarimetry of V4332 Sagittarii

Kamiński

Tylenda

2013

A&A

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Context. The eruption of V4332 Sgr was observed in 1994. During the outburst, the object became extremely red, so it has been considered as to belong to red transients of the V838 Mon type. Optical spectroscopy obtained a few years after the eruption showed a faint M-type stellar spectrum underlying numerous molecular and atomic emission features. It has recently been suggested that the central object in V4332 Sgr is now hidden in a dusty disc and that the photospheric spectrum of this object observed in the optical results from scattering of the radiation of the central star on dust grains in the circumstellar matter. Recent polarimetric photometry has shown that the optical radiation of the object is indeed strongly polarized. Aims. If it results from scattering on dust grains, the optical continuum of the object is expected to be polarized. The emission features, on the contrary -as observed directly from circumstellar regions -are expected to be unpolarized. We investigate these predictions. Methods. We present and analyse our spectropolarimetric observations of V4332 Sgr obtained with the VLT in the optical region. Results. The optical continuum of V4332 Sgr is linearly polarized with a typical degree of 16.6%. A clear depolarization is observed in the spectral regions where emission features contribute significantly to the observed flux. The only prominent exception is the Ca i λ6573 emission line, which is polarized in 21%.Conclusions. The results of our spectropolarimetric observations are in accord with the proposed geometry of the system and the advocated nature of the observed optical spectrum of V4332 Sgr. The continuum is not seen directly but results from scattering on dust within the disc and polar outflow, while most of the gas emission comes from the polar outflow excited by the radiation field of the central source. Additionally, the observed polarization patterns suggest a stratification of the outflow.

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The mysterious eruption of V838 Mon

Cited by 178 publications

References 13 publications

0.8–13 Micron Spectroscopy of V838 Monocerotis and a Model for Its Emission

0.8–13 Micron Spectroscopy of V838 Monocerotis and a Model for Its Emission

V1309 Scorpii: merger of a contact binary

Optical spectropolarimetry of V4332 Sagittarii

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