2006/06/19 by Brian E. Wood, Margarita Karovska · 2 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Measurement and Metrology Techniques #Atomic and Molecular Physics #History #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/506383
published as Astrophys.J.649:410-414,2006 · 12 pages, 3 figures, AASTEX v5.0, accepted by ApJ
arxiv created 2006/06/19 · openalex publication_date 2006/09/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Recent ultraviolet spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer ( FUSE ) satellites demonstrate that UV line and continuum fluxes observed from Mira B are increasing back toward the levels that the International Ultraviolet Explorer ( IUE ) observed in 1979-1980 and 1990-1995, after having been found in a very low state by HST and FUSE in 1999-2001. The UV emission is associated with accretion of material onto Mira B from Mira A's massive wind, so the variability is presumably due to variations in accretion rate. From wind absorption features, we estimate a Mira B mass-loss rate of 2.5 × 10 -12 M ☉ yr -1 , indicating that Mira B's wind has increased in strength along with the accretion rate. The UV variability may be associated with a previously reported 14 yr periodicity in Mira B's optical emission.