Observations and modeling of the massive young star AFGL 4176: From large scales to small

TL;DR

This paper combines high-resolution mid-infrared interferometry and modeling to study the structure of the massive young star AFGL 4176, revealing a luminous star enshrouded by a thick envelope across multiple scales.

Contribution

It provides spatially-resolved observations and a simple radiative transfer model to characterize the circumstellar environment of AFGL 4176.

Findings

Data consistent with a highly luminous star surrounded by a thick envelope

Observations span large to small scales, linking different spatial regimes

Model supports the presence of a dense, spherical envelope around the star

Abstract

We present spatially-resolved mid-infrared interferometric observations of the massive young stellar object AFGL 4176, together with literature and survey data. We model these observations using a simple, spherically-symmetric radiative transfer model, and find that the observational data are consistent with a highly luminous star surrounded by a thick envelope.