Clumpy dust clouds and extended atmosphere of the AGB star W Hya revealed with VLT/SPHERE-ZIMPOL and VLTI/AMBER II. Time variations between pre-maximum and minimum light

TL;DR

This study investigates the time-dependent dust cloud structures and atmospheric changes of the AGB star W Hya using high-resolution polarimetric imaging and interferometry, revealing dynamic dust formation and atmospheric extension variations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of dust cloud and atmospheric properties of W Hya between pre-maximum and minimum light phases using combined polarimetric and interferometric data.

Findings

Detected formation and disappearance of dust clouds over time.

Observed increased atmospheric extension and weaker limb-darkening at minimum light.

Identified phase-dependent grain size variations indicating shock-driven dust formation.

Abstract

Our recent visible polarimetric images of the well-studied AGB star W Hya taken at pre-maximum light (phase 0.92) with VLT/SPHERE-ZIMPOL have revealed clumpy dust clouds close to the star at ~2 Rstar. We present second-epoch SPHERE-ZIMPOL observations of W Hya at minimum light (phase 0.54) in the continuum (645, 748, and 820 nm), in the Halpha line (656.3 nm), and in the TiO band (717 nm) as well as high-spectral resolution long-baseline interferometric observations in 2.3 micron CO lines with the AMBER instrument at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The high-spatial resolution polarimetric images have allowed us to detect clear time variations in the clumpy dust clouds as close as 34--50~mas (1.4--2.0 Rstar) to the star. We detected the formation of a new dust cloud and the disappearance of one of the dust clouds detected at the first epoch. The Halpha and TiO emission extends to ~150 mas (~6 Rstar), and the Halpha images reveal time variations. The degree of linear polarization is higher at minimum light (13--18%) than that at pre-maximum light. The power-law-type limb-darkened disk fit to the AMBER data in the continuum results in a limb-darkened disk diameter of 49.1+/-1.5 mas and a limb-darkening parameter of 1.16+/-0.49, indicating that the atmosphere is more extended with weaker limb-darkening compared to pre-maximum light. Our Monte Carlo radiative transfer modeling suggests the predominance of small (0.1 micron) grains of Al2O3, Mg2SiO4, and MgSiO3 at minimum light, in marked contrast to the predominance of large (0.5 micron) grains at pre-maximum light. The variability phase dependence of the grain size implies that small grains might just have started to form at minimum light in the wake of a shock, while the pre-maximum light phase might have corresponded to the phase of efficient grain growth.