Title: Integral-field spectroscopy of the young high-mass star IRAS13481-6124 Authors: B. Stecklum (1), A. Caratti o Garatti (2), H. Linz (3) ((1) Thüringer Landessternwarte, Tautenburg, Germany, (2) Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany, (3) Max-Planck Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany)
We present results of AO-assisted K-band IFU spectroscopy of the massive young star IRAS13481-6124 performed with ESO's VLT/SINFONI instrument. Our spectro-astrometric analysis of the Br{\gamma} line revealed a photo-center shift with respect to the adjacent continuum of ~1 AU at a distance of 3.1 kpc. The position angle of this shift matches with that of the outflow which confirms that the massive star is indeed the driving source. Furthermore, a velocity gradient along the major disk axis was found which hints at the rotational sense of the ionised region, and thus of the disk as well. The gradient is not consistent with Keplerian motion but points to rigid rotation of the innermost disk. Notably, emission of H_2 is absent from source while both shocked and fluorescent H_2 emission are observed in its immediate surroundings.
Astronomers have obtained the first image of a dusty disc closely encircling a massive baby star, providing direct evidence that massive stars form in the same way as their smaller brethren. This discovery, made thanks to a combination of ESO's telescopes, is described in an article in this week's issue of Nature. The team of astronomers looked at an object known by the cryptic name of IRAS 13481-6124. About twenty times the mass of our Sun and five times its radius, the young central star, which is still surrounded by its pre-natal cocoon, is located in the constellation of Centaurus, about 10 000 light-years away. Read more
Unravelling the Mystery of Star Birth - Dust Disk Discovered Around Massive Star
Astronomers caught their first glimpse of a dusty disk closely encircling a massive baby star, providing direct evidence that massive stars form in the same way as their smaller counterparts. The discovery was made thanks to a combination of data from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Read more