Related papers: Coordinated AMBER and MIDI observations of the Mir…
We analyse ALMA observations of the 12CO(3-2) emission of the circumstellar envelope (CSE) of the Mira variable binary star W Aql. These provide, for the first time, spatially resolved Doppler velocity spectra of the CSE up to angular…
We report Multi-telescope interferometric measurements taken with the Interferometric Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) to provide imagery of the LPV Mira in the H-band. This wavelength region is well suited to studying mass loss given the low…
The mass-loss mechanisms in M-type AGB stars are not well understood, in particular, the formation of dust-driven winds from the innermost gaseous layers around these stars. One way to understand the gas-dust interaction in these regions…
The mechanism of mass loss in late evolutionary stages of low- and intermediate-mass stars is not yet well understood. Therefore, it is crucial to study the dynamics of the region within a few stellar radii, where the wind acceleration is…
Atmospheres of evolved AGB stars are heavily affected by pulsation, dust formation and mass loss, and they can become very extended. Time series of observed high-resolution spectra proved to be a useful tool to study atmospheric dynamics…
The uniform disk (UD) angular diameter measurements of two oxygen-rich Mira variables (AW Aur and BS Aur) and three semiregular (SRb) variables (GP Tau, RS Cap, RT Cap), in near Infrared K-band (2.2 micron) by lunar occultation observations…
We present mid-infrared interferometric observations of the Herbig Ae star R CrA obtained with MIDI at the VLTI using several projected baselines in the UT2-UT3 configuration. The observations show resolved circumstellar emission in the…
This paper presents a study of the atmospheric refraction and its effect on the light coupling efficiency in an instrument using single-mode optical fibers. We show the analytical approach which allowed us to assess the need to correct the…
The first astrophysical results of the VLTI focal instrument AMBER have shown the importance of the differential and closure phase measures, which are supposed to be much less sensitive to atmospheric and instrumental biases than the…
The mass-loss process of red supergiant (RSG) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and its relation to variability is poorly constrained. We study two evolved stars, the Mira-type AGB star R Car and the extreme RSG VX Sgr. Our sample…
The outflows of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are thought to be driven by radiation pressure by photon scattering on grains with sizes of tenths of microns. The details of the formation of dust in the extended atmospheres…
A survey of CO(3-2) emission from optically visible oxygen-rich Mira variable stars within 500 pc of the sun was conducted. A molecular envelope was detected surrounding 36 of the 66 stars examined. Some of these stars have lower outflow…
We aim to characterize the distribution and composition of circumstellar material around young massive stars, and to investigate exactly which physical structures in these objects are probed by long-baseline mid-infrared interferometric…
Originating in different depths of the very extended atmospheres of AGB stars, various molecular spectral lines observable in the near-infrared show diverse behaviours and can be used to probe atmospheric dynamics throughout the outer…
Thanks to their large angular dimension and brightness, red giants and supergiants are privileged targets for optical long-baseline interferometers. Sixteen red giants and supergiants have been observed with the VLTI/AMBER facility over a…
Optical interferometry is a powerful tool to investigate the close environment of AGB stars. With a spatial resolution of a few milli-arcseconds, it is even possible to image directly the surface of angularly large objects. This is of…
Context. The mass loss from massive stars is not understood well. Eta Car is a unique object for studying the massive stellar wind during the LBV phase. It is also an eccentric binary with a period of 5.54 yr. The nature of both stars is…
We describe the Cool Opacity-sampling Dynamic EXtended (CODEX) atmosphere models of Mira variable stars, and examine in detail the physical and numerical approximations that go in to the model creation. The CODEX atmospheric models are…
We present spatially resolved high-spectral resolution K-band observations of the red supergiant Betelgeuse (alpha Ori) using AMBER at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Betelgeuse was observed between 2.28 and 2.31 micron…
Within the 'Medicina/Effelsberg H2O maser monitoring program' we observed U Her and RR Aql at 22-GHz for about two decades between 1990 and 2011, with a gap between 1997 and 2000 in the case of RR Aql. In addition, maps were obtained in the…