The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa
The red hypergiant VY CMa is remarkable for its very visible record of high-mass-loss events observed over the range of wavelengths from the optical and infrared to the submillimeter region with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The SW Clump or SW knots are unique in the ejecta of...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbbf1 |
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| author | Roberta M. Humphreys Terry J. Jones Kris Davidson A. M. S. Richards R. Ravi A. P. Singh L. M. Ziurys |
| author_facet | Roberta M. Humphreys Terry J. Jones Kris Davidson A. M. S. Richards R. Ravi A. P. Singh L. M. Ziurys |
| author_sort | Roberta M. Humphreys |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The red hypergiant VY CMa is remarkable for its very visible record of high-mass-loss events observed over the range of wavelengths from the optical and infrared to the submillimeter region with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The SW Clump or SW knots are unique in the ejecta of VY CMa. Except for the central star, they are the brightest sources of dusty infrared emission in its complex ejecta. In this paper we combine the proper motions from the Hubble Space Telescope images, and infrared fluxes from 2 to 12 μ m with the ^12 CO images from ALMA to determine their ages and mass estimates. The SW knots were ejected more than 200 yr ago with an active period lasting about 30 yr, and with a total mass in the Clump > 2 × 10 ^−2 M _⊙ . |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6b7e1bbd1ca54355a9951dc78094c43c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-6b7e1bbd1ca54355a9951dc78094c43c2025-08-20T02:48:24ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169423010.3847/1538-3881/adbbf1The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMaRoberta M. Humphreys0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1720-9807Terry J. Jones1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-6980Kris Davidson2A. M. S. Richards3R. Ravi4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9204-6270A. P. Singh5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5419-183XL. M. Ziurys6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1805-3886Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA ; roberta@umn.eduMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA ; roberta@umn.eduMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA ; roberta@umn.eduDepartment of Astronomy, University of Manchester , UKDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Arizona , USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Arizona , USADepartment of Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, and Steward Observatory University of Arizona , USAThe red hypergiant VY CMa is remarkable for its very visible record of high-mass-loss events observed over the range of wavelengths from the optical and infrared to the submillimeter region with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The SW Clump or SW knots are unique in the ejecta of VY CMa. Except for the central star, they are the brightest sources of dusty infrared emission in its complex ejecta. In this paper we combine the proper motions from the Hubble Space Telescope images, and infrared fluxes from 2 to 12 μ m with the ^12 CO images from ALMA to determine their ages and mass estimates. The SW knots were ejected more than 200 yr ago with an active period lasting about 30 yr, and with a total mass in the Clump > 2 × 10 ^−2 M _⊙ .https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbbf1Massive starsStellar mass lossCircumstellar matterRed supergiant stars |
| spellingShingle | Roberta M. Humphreys Terry J. Jones Kris Davidson A. M. S. Richards R. Ravi A. P. Singh L. M. Ziurys The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa The Astronomical Journal Massive stars Stellar mass loss Circumstellar matter Red supergiant stars |
| title | The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa |
| title_full | The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa |
| title_fullStr | The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa |
| title_short | The Infrared-bright SW Knots in the Complex Ejecta of VY CMa |
| title_sort | infrared bright sw knots in the complex ejecta of vy cma |
| topic | Massive stars Stellar mass loss Circumstellar matter Red supergiant stars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbbf1 |
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