Detection of the compressed primary stellar wind in eta Carinae

Abstract

A series of three HST/STIS spectroscopic mappings, spaced approximately one year apart, reveal three partial arcs in [Fe II] and [Ni II] emissions moving outward from eta Carinae. We identify these arcs with the shell-like structures, seen in the 3D hydrodynamical simulations, formed by compression of the primary wind by the secondary wind during periastron passages.

Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

References in corpus (6)

• Spiralling out of control: 3D hydrodynamical modelling of the colliding winds in $\eta$Carinae
• The UV Scattering Halo of the Central Source Associated with Eta Carinae
• Constraining the Absolute Orientation of Eta Carinae's Binary Orbit: A 3-D Dynamical Model for the Broad [Fe III] Emission
• On the influence of the companion star in Eta Carinae: 2D radiative transfer modeling of the ultraviolet and optical spectra
• Imaging with HST the time evolution of Eta Carinae's colliding winds
• Near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of the Homunculus nebula around Eta Carinae using Gemini/CIRPASS

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Constraints on decreases in Eta Carinae's mass loss from 3D hydrodynamic simulations of its binary colliding winds
• He II $\lambda$4686 emission from the massive binary system in $\eta$ Car: constraints to the orbital elements and the nature of the periodic minima
• The fossil wind structures of Eta Carinae: changes across on 5.54-year cycle
• 3D radiative transfer simulations of Eta Carinae's inner colliding winds - I. Ionization structure of helium at apastron
• 3D Radiative Transfer in $\eta$ Carinae: Application of the SimpleX Algorithm to 3D SPH Simulations of Binary Colliding Winds
• 3D radiative transfer simulations of Eta Carinae's inner colliding winds - II: Ionization structure of helium at periastron
• Eta Carinae & the Homunculus: Far Infrared, Sub-millimeter Spectral Lines
• The peculiar chemistry of the inner ejecta of Eta Carina
• On the changes in the physical properties of the ionized region around the Weigelt structures in Eta Carinae over the 5.54-yr spectroscopic cycle
• A Case Study in Astronomical 3-D Printing: The Mysterious Eta Carinae