English

Interferometric Observations of V838 Monocerotis

Astrophysics 2009-11-10 v2

Abstract

We have used long-baseline near-IR interferometry to resolve the peculiar eruptive variable V838 Mon and to provide the first direct measurement of its angular size. Assuming a uniform disk model for the emission we derive an apparent angular diameter at the time of observations (November-December 2004) of 1.83±0.061.83 \pm 0.06 milli-arcseconds. For a nominal distance of 8±28\pm2 kpc, this implies a linear radius of 1570±400R1570 \pm 400 R_{\odot}. However, the data are somewhat better fit by elliptical disk or binary component models, and we suggest that the emission may be strongly affected by ejecta from the outburst.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0502293,
  title  = {Interferometric Observations of V838 Monocerotis},
  author = {B. F. Lane and A. Retter and R. R. Thompson and J. A. Eisner},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0502293},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

12 pages, 1 two-part encapsulated postscript figure. Accepted by ApJL. Added a table of observations