Constraining the orbital orientation of η Carinae from H Paschen lines

During the past decade, several observational and theoretical works have provided evidence of the binary nature of η Carinae. Nevertheless, there is still no direct determination of the orbital parameters, and the different current models give contradictory results. The orbit is, in general, assumed to coincide with the Homunculus equator although the observations are not conclusive. Among all systems, η Car has the advantage that it is possible to observe both the direct emission of line transitions in the central source and its reflection by the Homunculus, which is dependent on the orbital inclination. In this work, we studied the orbital phase-dependent hydrogen Paschen spectra reflected by the south-east lobe of the Homunculus to constrain the orbital parameters of η Car and determine its inclination with respect to the Homunculus axis. Assuming that the emission excess originates in the wind–wind shock region, we were able to model the latitude dependence of the spectral line profiles. For the first time, we were able to estimate the orbital inclination of η Car with respect to the observer and to the Homunculus axis. The best fit occurs for an orbital inclination to the line of sight of   i ∼ 60°± 10°  , and   i *∼ 35°± 10°  with respect to the Homunculus axis, indicating that the angular momenta of the central object and the orbit are not aligned. We were also able to fix the phase angle of conjunction as  ∼−40°  , showing that periastron passage occurs shortly after conjunction.     

The departure of η Carinae from axisymmetry and the binary hypothesis

I argue that the large-scale departure from axisymmetry of the η Carinae nebula can be explained by the binary star model of η Carinae. The companion diverts the wind blown by the primary star, by accreting from the wind and possibly by blowing its own collimated fast wind (CFW). The effect of these processes depends on the orbital separation, and hence on the orbital phase of the eccentric orbit. The variation of the mass outflow from the binary system with the orbital phase leads to a large-scale departure from axisymmetry along the equatorial plane, as is observed in η Carinae. I further speculate that such a companion may have accreted a large fraction of the mass that was expelled in the Great Eruption of 1850 and the Lesser Eruption of 1890. The accretion process was likely to form an accretion disc, with the formation of a CFW, or jets, on the two sides of the accretion disc. The CFW may have played a crucial role in the formation of the two lobes.     

Prediction for the He iλ10830 Å absorption wing in the coming event of η Carinae

We propose an explanation for the puzzling appearance of a wide blue absorption wing in the He  i  λ10830 Å  P Cygni profile of the massive binary star η Car several months before periastron passage. Our basic assumption is that the colliding winds region is responsible for the blue wing absorption. By fitting observations, we find that the maximum outflow velocity of this absorbing material is  ∼2300 km s⁻¹  . We also assume that the secondary star is towards the observer at periastron passage. With a toy model, we achieve two significant results. (1) We show that the semimajor axis orientation we use can account for the appearance and evolution of the wide blue wing under our basic assumption. (2) We predict that the Doppler shift (the edge of the absorption profile) will reach a maximum 0–3 weeks before periastron passage, and not necessarily exactly at periastron passage or after periastron passage.     

Using X-ray observations to explore the binary interaction in Eta Carinae

We study the usage of the X-ray light curve, column density towards the hard X-ray source, and emission measure (density square times volume), of the massive binary system η Carinae to determine the orientation of its semimajor axis. The source of the hard X-ray emission is the shocked secondary wind. We argue that, by itself, the observed X-ray flux cannot teach us much about the orientation of the semimajor axis. Minor adjustment of some unknown parameters of the binary system allows to fit the X-ray light curve with almost any inclination angle and orientation. The column density and X-ray emission measure, on the other hand, impose strong constrains on the orientation. We improve our previous calculations and show that the column density is more compatible with an orientation where for most of the time the secondary – the hotter, less massive star – is behind the primary star. The secondary comes closer to the observer only for a short time near periastron passage. The 10-week X-ray deep minimum, which results from a large decrease in the emission measure, implies that the regular secondary wind is substantially suppressed during that period. This suppression is most likely resulted by accretion of mass from the dense wind of the primary luminous blue variable star. The accretion from the equatorial plane might lead to the formation of a polar outflow. We suggest that the polar outflow contributes to the soft X-ray emission during the X-ray minimum; the other source is the shocked secondary wind in the tail. The conclusion that accretion occurs at each periastron passage, every five and a half years, implies that accretion had occurred at a much higher rate during the Great Eruption of η Car in the 19th century. This has far reaching implications for major eruptions of luminous blue variable stars.     

Near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of the Homunculus nebula around η Carinae using Gemini/cirpass

This work presents the first integral field spectroscopy of the Homunculus nebula around η Carinae in the near-infrared spectral region ( J band). We confirmed the presence of a hole on the polar region of each lobe, as indicated by previous near-IR long-slit spectra and mid-IR images. The holes can be described as a cylinder of height (i.e. the thickness of the lobe) and diameter of 6.5 and  6.0 × 10¹⁶  cm, respectively. We also mapped the blue-shifted component of He  i  λ10830 seen towards the NW lobe. Contrary to previous works, we suggested that this blue-shifted component is not related to the Paddle but it is indeed in the equatorial disc.
We confirmed the claim of N. Smith and showed that the spatial extent of the Little Homunculus matches remarkably well the radio continuum emission at 3 cm, indicating that the Little Homunculus can be regarded as a small H  ii region. Therefore, we used the optically thin 1.3 mm radio flux to derive a lower limit for the number of Lyman-continuum photons of the central source in η Car. In the context of a binary system, and assuming that the ionizing flux comes entirely from the hot companion star, the lower limit for its spectral type and luminosity class ranges from O5.5  iii to O7  i . Moreover, we showed that the radio peak at 1.7 arcsec NW from the central star is in the same line-of-sight of the 'Sr-filament' but they are obviously spatially separated, while the blue-shifted component of He  i λ10830 may be related to the radio peak and can be explained by the ultraviolet radiation from the companion star.     

Variability of η Carinae – III

Spectra (1951–78) of the central object in η Car, taken by A. D. Thackeray, reveal three previously unrecorded epochs of low excitation. Since 1948, at least, these states have occurred regularly in the 2020-d cycle proposed by Damineli et al. They last about 10 per cent of each cycle. Early slit spectra (1899–1919) suggest that at that time the object was always in a low state. JHKL photometry is reported for the period 1994–2000. This shows that the secular increase in brightness found in 1972–94 has continued and its rate has increased at the shorter wavelengths. Modulation of the infrared brightness in a period near 2020 d continues. There is a dip in the JHKL light curves near 1998.0, coincident with a dip in the X-ray light curve. Evidence is given that this dip in the infrared repeats in the 2020-d cycle. As suggested by Whitelock & Laney, the dip is best interpreted as an eclipse phenomenon in an interacting binary system; the object eclipsed being a bright region ('hotspot'), possibly on a circumstellar disc or produced by interacting stellar winds. The eclipse coincides in phase and duration with the state of low excitation. It is presumably caused by a plasma column and/or by one of the stars in the system.     

Predicted radio-continuum emission from the little Homunculus of the η Carinae nebula

In this paper, we compute theoretically the flux density and the spectral index of the free–free radiation at radio wavelengths produced by shocks in the inner bipolar emission nebula called the little Homunculus around the star η Carinae. The little Homunculus is believed to have formed as a result of the minor eruption suffered by the star in the 1890s. In our model, we consider a simplified interacting stellar wind scenario where the post-outburst η Carinae wind collides with the eruptive outflow (both assumed to be bipolar with conical symmetry). As a result of the interaction, shock-wave structures are formed and generate the development of two polar caps moving in opposite directions. After ∼100 yr (i.e. at present times), the polar caps are located ±2.3 arcsec on each side of the star, and remain embedded within the larger bipolar Homunculus that extends from −8 to +8 arcsec along its major axis. Using observational estimates of the characteristics of the eruptive event of the 1890s, and of the ambient wind powered by η Carinae in the decades after the eruption ended, we study the evolution of the polar caps formed as a result of a sudden increase in the wind velocity and an instantaneous drop in the mass-loss rate (just after the eruption) at the injection radius. We found that the little Homunculus emits continuum radiation that can be detected at radio frequencies and that indeed represents an important contribution to the total free–free emission detected from the η Carinae nebula.     

Possible detection of an old bipolar shell associated with η Carinae

Continuum-subtracted dereddened images in the light of several atomic lines show the presence of an extended bipolar nebula surrounding η Carinae with size ∼100×45 arcsec² (1.3×0.5 pc²). This feature is best delineated in [O  iii ] 5007. The geometrical disposition and mass of the shell suggest that it was formed by mass ejections from η Carinae. The dynamic age of the nebula is ∼13 000/ V ₇ yr, where V ₇ is the mean expansion velocity in 100 km s⁻¹, and its mass is between 5 and 10 M_⊙. The nebula is photoionized and composed of unprocessed material. The major axes of the nebula and of the Homunculus are nearly perpendicular. We also report the discovery of elongated emission knots prominent in [N  ii ] located 64 to 100 arcsec away from η Carinae, which implies that they were ejected either centuries ago or at a more recent date but with extremely large velocities.     

The origin of the strings in the outer regions of η Carinae

The narrow optical filaments ('strings' or 'spikes') emerging from the Homunculus of η Carinae are modelled as resulting from the passage of ballistic 'bullets' of material through the dense circumstellar environment. In this explanation, the string is the decelerating flow of ablated gas from the bullet. An archive Hubble Space Telescope image and new forbidden-line profiles of the most distinct of the strings are presented and discussed in terms of this simple model.