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The radio source around Eta CarinaeWe present high spatial resolution radio observations of the peculiar southern star Eta Carinae, made with the Australian Telescope. The images, at 8 and 9 GHz with a resolution of 1.0 arcsec show a source of dimension 10 arcsec and total flux of 0.7 Jy dominated by a strong central peak. The radio emission is unpolarized and offers no support to models which invoke degenerate stars or more exotic objects within the core of Eta Car. In these data we find no evidence for more than one energy source in the core with arcsecond separations as some infrared observations have suggested. Several levels of structure are evident in the radio image, which shows symmetry on the larger scales. Conventional formulae for stellar wind radio sources give a mass loss rate of order 3 x 10(exp -4) Solar Mass/yr based on the radio flux in the central peak, which yields a wind momentum flux of order 20% of the momentum flux available from the star's radiation field. The radio emission at these frequencies is consistent with thermal emission from gas flowing away from a 'luminous blue variable' star (LBV) Eta Car is probably the brightest thermal stellar wind radio source in the sky.
Document ID
19950037371
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
White, S. M.
(Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD United States)
Duncan, R. A.
(Australia Telescope National Facility Epping NSW, Australia)
Lim, J.
(Solar Astronomy, Pasadena, CA United States)
Nelson, G. J.
(ATNF/Paul Wild Observatory Narrabri NSW, Australia)
Drake, S. A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kundu, M. R.
(Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 429
Issue: 1
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
95A68970
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF AST-92-17891
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF AST-91-14918
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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