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Multi-Wavelength Implications of the Companion Star in eta CarinaeEta-Carinae is considered to be a massive colliding wind binary system with a highly eccentric (e approximately 0.9), 5.54-yr orbit. However, the companion star continues to evade direct detection as the primary dwarfs its emission at most wavelengths. Using three-dimensional (3-D) SPH simulations of eta-Car's colliding winds and radiative transfer codes, we are able to compute synthetic observables across multiple wavebands for comparison to the observations. The models show that the presence of a companion star has a profound influence on the observed HST/STIS UV spectrum and H-alpha line profiles, as well as the ground-based photometric monitoring. Here, we focus on the Bore Hole effect, wherein the fast wind from the hot secondary star carves a cavity in the dense primary wind, allowing increased escape of radiation from the hotter/deeper layers of the primary's extended wind photosphere. The results have important implications for interpretations of eta-Car's observables at multiple wavelengths.
Document ID
20120001994
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Madura, Thomas I. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
Gull, Theodore R. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Groh, Jose H. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
Owocki, Stanley P. (Delaware Univ. Newark, DE, United States)
Okazaki, Atsuo (Hokkai-Gakuen Univ. Hokkaido, Japan)
Hillier, D. John (Pittsburgh Univ. Pittsburgh, PA, United States)
Russell, Christopher (Delaware Univ. Newark, DE, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2012
Subject Category
Astronomy
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.5685.2011
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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