The convection of close red supergiant stars observed with near-infrared interferometry

TL;DR

This study uses near-infrared interferometry to observe and monitor the photospheres of Betelgeuse and Antares, revealing details about the convective processes in massive evolved stars.

Contribution

It provides new high-resolution observational data of red supergiant stars' photospheres, including long-term monitoring and unprecedented sampling of visibility functions.

Findings

Detailed images of Betelgeuse's photosphere over three years.

Unprecedented sampling of Antares' visibility function.

Insights into convective processes in red supergiants.

Abstract

Our team has obtained observations of the photosphere of the two closest red supergiant stars Betelgeuse ($\alpha$ Ori) and Antares ($\alpha$ Sco) using near infrared interferometry. We have been monitoring the photosphere of Betelgeuse with the VLTI/PIONIER instrument for three years. On Antares, we obtained an unprecedented sampling of the visibility function. These data allow us to probe the convective photosphere of massive evolved stars.