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The contribution by luminous blue variable stars to the dust content of the Magellanic Clouds

The contribution by luminous blue variable stars to the dust content of the Magellanic Clouds
The contribution by luminous blue variable stars to the dust content of the Magellanic Clouds
Context. Previous studies have concluded that low- and intermediate-mass stars cannot account for the interstellar dust yield in the Magellanic Clouds inferred from far-infrared and sub-millimetre observations.
Aims. Luminous blue variable stars (LBVs) form dust as a result of episodic, violent mass loss. To investigate their contribution as dust producers in the Magellanic Clouds, we analyse 31 confirmed and candidate LBVs from a recent census.
Methods. We built a maximally complete multi-wavelength dataset of these sources from archival space telescope images and catalogues from near-infrared to millimetre wavelengths. We also present new Very Large Telescope VISIR observations of three sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We review the LBV classification on the basis of the infrared spectral energy distribution. To derive characteristic dust parameters, we fitted the photometry resulting from a stacking analysis, which consists of co-adding images of the same wavelength band of several targets to improve the signal-to-noise. For comparison we also stacked the images of low- and intermediate-mass evolved stars in the LMC.
Results. We find four classes of sources: (1) LBVs showing mid-infrared dust emission plus near-infrared free-free emission from an ionised stellar wind (Class 1a) or only mid-infrared dust emission (Class 1b); (2) LBVs with a near-infrared excess due to free-free emission only (Class 2); (3) objects with an sgB[e] classification in the literature, displaying a distinctive hot dust component; and (4) objects with no detected stellar winds and no circumstellar matter in their SEDs. From the stacking analysis of the 18 Class 1 and 2 objects in the LMC, we derived an integrated dust mass of 0.11−0.03+0.06 M⊙. This is two orders of magnitude larger than the value inferred from stacking 1342 extreme-asymptotic giant branch stars. The dust mass of individual LBVs does not correlate with the stellar parameters, possibly suggesting that the dust production mechanism is independent of the initial stellar mass or that the stars have different evolutionary histories. The total dust yield from LBVs over the age of the LMC is ∼104 − 105 M⊙. The one order of magnitude uncertainty is mainly due to uncertainties of the LBV population, star formation history, and initial mass function.
Conclusions. LBVs are potentially the second most important source of dust in normal galaxies. The role of dust destruction in LBV nebulae by a possible subsequent supernova (SN) blast wave has yet to be determined. Recent theoretical developments in the field of dust processing by SN shocks highlight the potential survival of dust grains from the pre-existing circumstellar nebula.

Dust, extinction, Galaxies: ISM, Magellanic Clouds, Stars: mass-loss, Stars: variables: S Doradus
0004-6361
Asmus, Daniel
f783516a-c74c-4912-b68e-4e896e4317b2
Agliozzo, C.
a2621d52-7d2c-4ad3-a003-a4b30e05488b
Phillips, N.
b69863bb-f0e1-4a69-980b-bf56df3a2ae8
Mehner, A.
0238555b-f5ea-4253-869b-c32b420291a9
Baade, D.
354545a5-90e9-4edf-acc7-162efe8b7c6c
Scicluna, P.
c8189688-7606-49de-ac11-ce5bbaa99ead
Kemper, F.
f9438290-eb6a-4696-bfb6-f1898eadf0e9
de Wit, W.-J.
f1ef9803-ec69-4469-89bf-c80c059c722e
Pignata, G.
9bd75293-6f05-4f62-b533-62d8fc83a4ad
Asmus, Daniel
f783516a-c74c-4912-b68e-4e896e4317b2
Agliozzo, C.
a2621d52-7d2c-4ad3-a003-a4b30e05488b
Phillips, N.
b69863bb-f0e1-4a69-980b-bf56df3a2ae8
Mehner, A.
0238555b-f5ea-4253-869b-c32b420291a9
Baade, D.
354545a5-90e9-4edf-acc7-162efe8b7c6c
Scicluna, P.
c8189688-7606-49de-ac11-ce5bbaa99ead
Kemper, F.
f9438290-eb6a-4696-bfb6-f1898eadf0e9
de Wit, W.-J.
f1ef9803-ec69-4469-89bf-c80c059c722e
Pignata, G.
9bd75293-6f05-4f62-b533-62d8fc83a4ad

Asmus, Daniel, Agliozzo, C., Phillips, N., Mehner, A., Baade, D., Scicluna, P., Kemper, F., de Wit, W.-J. and Pignata, G. (2021) The contribution by luminous blue variable stars to the dust content of the Magellanic Clouds. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 655 (A&A), [A98]. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202141279).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Context. Previous studies have concluded that low- and intermediate-mass stars cannot account for the interstellar dust yield in the Magellanic Clouds inferred from far-infrared and sub-millimetre observations.
Aims. Luminous blue variable stars (LBVs) form dust as a result of episodic, violent mass loss. To investigate their contribution as dust producers in the Magellanic Clouds, we analyse 31 confirmed and candidate LBVs from a recent census.
Methods. We built a maximally complete multi-wavelength dataset of these sources from archival space telescope images and catalogues from near-infrared to millimetre wavelengths. We also present new Very Large Telescope VISIR observations of three sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We review the LBV classification on the basis of the infrared spectral energy distribution. To derive characteristic dust parameters, we fitted the photometry resulting from a stacking analysis, which consists of co-adding images of the same wavelength band of several targets to improve the signal-to-noise. For comparison we also stacked the images of low- and intermediate-mass evolved stars in the LMC.
Results. We find four classes of sources: (1) LBVs showing mid-infrared dust emission plus near-infrared free-free emission from an ionised stellar wind (Class 1a) or only mid-infrared dust emission (Class 1b); (2) LBVs with a near-infrared excess due to free-free emission only (Class 2); (3) objects with an sgB[e] classification in the literature, displaying a distinctive hot dust component; and (4) objects with no detected stellar winds and no circumstellar matter in their SEDs. From the stacking analysis of the 18 Class 1 and 2 objects in the LMC, we derived an integrated dust mass of 0.11−0.03+0.06 M⊙. This is two orders of magnitude larger than the value inferred from stacking 1342 extreme-asymptotic giant branch stars. The dust mass of individual LBVs does not correlate with the stellar parameters, possibly suggesting that the dust production mechanism is independent of the initial stellar mass or that the stars have different evolutionary histories. The total dust yield from LBVs over the age of the LMC is ∼104 − 105 M⊙. The one order of magnitude uncertainty is mainly due to uncertainties of the LBV population, star formation history, and initial mass function.
Conclusions. LBVs are potentially the second most important source of dust in normal galaxies. The role of dust destruction in LBV nebulae by a possible subsequent supernova (SN) blast wave has yet to be determined. Recent theoretical developments in the field of dust processing by SN shocks highlight the potential survival of dust grains from the pre-existing circumstellar nebula.

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Accepted/In Press date: 18 August 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 November 2021
Published date: 29 November 2021
Additional Information: Funding Information: Acknowledgements. D.A. acknowledges funding through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 and Innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 793499 (DUSTDEVILS). F.K. is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) of Taiwan, under grant number MOST107-2119-M-001-031-MY3, and also by Academia Sinica, in the form of Investigator Award AS-IA-106-MO3. GP is supported by ANID – Millennium Science Initiative – ICN12_009. This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2017.A.00054.S and ADS/JAO.ALMA#2018.A.00049.S. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada) and NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan) and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ. This paper also includes data collected: at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programmes 096.D-0047(A), 097.D-0612(A,B), and 0100.D-0469(A,B). This work made use of PyAstronomy. This research has made use of the International Variable Star Index (VSX) database, operated at AAVSO, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France. The original description of the VizieR service was published in A&AS 143, 23. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive, which is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and operated by the California Institute of Technology. This research made use of Photutils, an Astropy package for detection and photometry of astronomical sources (Bradley et al. 2021). The Cornell Atlas of Spitzer/IRS Sources (CASSIS) is a product of the Infrared Science Center at Cornell University, supported by NASA and JPL. Publisher Copyright: © ESO 2021.
Keywords: Dust, extinction, Galaxies: ISM, Magellanic Clouds, Stars: mass-loss, Stars: variables: S Doradus

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Local EPrints ID: 453215
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/453215
ISSN: 0004-6361
PURE UUID: b2dcf34d-d66a-4748-a925-18e51738ead2

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Date deposited: 11 Jan 2022 17:38
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 15:15

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Contributors

Author: Daniel Asmus
Author: C. Agliozzo
Author: N. Phillips
Author: A. Mehner
Author: D. Baade
Author: P. Scicluna
Author: F. Kemper
Author: W.-J. de Wit
Author: G. Pignata

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