Possible Implications of Mass Accretion in Eta Carinae

Abstract

We apply the previously suggested accretion model for the behavior of the super-massive binary system Eta Carinae close to periastron passages. In that model it is assumed that for ~10 weeks near periastron passages one star is accreting mass from the slow dense wind blown by the other star. We find that the secondary, the less massive star, accretes ~2x10^{-6}Mo. This mass possesses enough angular momentum to form a disk, or a belt, around the secondary. The viscous time is too long for the establishment of equilibrium, and the belt must be dissipated as its mass is being blown in the reestablished secondary wind. This processes requires about half a year, which we identify with the recovery phase of Eta Carinae. We show that radiation pressure, termed radiative braking, cannot prevent accretion. In addition to using the commonly assumed binary model for Eta Carinae, we also examine alternative models where the stellar masses are larger, and/or the less massive secondary blows the slow dense wind, while the primary blows the tenuous fast wind and accretes mass for ~10 weeks near periastron passages. We end by some predictions for the next event (January-March 2009).

New Astronomy, in press

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• Near-Infrared Evidence for a Sudden Temperature Increase in Eta Carinae
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• The Altered State of $\eta$Carinae: HST's Photometric Record 1998--2021
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• The orientation of Eta Carinae and the powering mechanism of intermediate luminosity optical transients (ILOTs)
• Photometric Observations of the Eta Carinae 2009.0 Spectroscopic Event
• Accretion in massive colliding wind binaries and the effect of wind momentum ratio
• Radiation-Driven Stellar Eruptions