2003/10/03 by S. Desidera, E. Giro, U. Munari +9 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20031689
published as Astron.Astrophys. 414 (2004) 591-600 · 10 pages, 8 figures, A&A, in press
arxiv created 2003/10/03 · openalex publication_date 2004/01/19 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We present the results of our polarimetric and spectropolarimetric monitoring of V838 Monocerotis, performed at the Asiago and Crimean observatories during and after the multiple outbursts that occurred in January-March 2002. The polarization of the object is mainly due to interstellar polarization (%). Intrinsic polarization up to ∼0.7% at 5000 Å is present during the second maximum of the object (February 2002). This intrinsic component increases toward shorter wavelengths but our limited spectral coverage (5000-7500 Å) does not allow conclusive inferences about its origin. A strong depolarization across the Hα profile is observed. The interstellar polarization gives a lower limit to the reddening of , with being the most probable value. A normal ratio of total to selective absorption () was derived from the wavelength of maximum interstellar polarization. This suggests a low (if any) contribution by circumstellar material with a peculiar dust to gas ratio. A polarimetric map of a portion of the light echo shows a complex polarization distribution reaching %.