Episodic mass loss in the very luminous red supergiant [W60] B90 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This study investigates the luminous red supergiant [W60] B90 in the LMC, providing evidence of episodic mass loss, a bow shock, and spectral variability, highlighting its unstable evolutionary state and similarities to Betelgeuse.

Contribution

It presents the first evidence of a bow shock and episodic mass loss in an extragalactic RSG, using multi-epoch data and proper motion analysis.

Findings

Detection of a bow shock around [W60] B90.

Identification of semi-regular variability with a 12-year recurrence.

Spectral variability indicating unstable mass loss episodes.

Abstract

This study delves into [W60] B90, one of the most luminous and extreme Red Supergiants (RSGs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), aiming to search for evidence of episodic mass loss. Our discovery of a bar-like nebular structure at 1 pc, reminiscent of the bar around Betelgeuse, raised the question of whether [W60] B90 also has a bow shock. We collected and analyzed proper motion data from Gaia, as well as new multi-epoch spectroscopic and imaging data, and archival time-series photometry in the optical and mid-infrared. We found [W60] B90 to be a walkaway star, with a supersonic peculiar velocity in the direction of the bar. We detected shocked emission between the bar and the star, based on the [S II]/H$\alpha$ > 0.4 criterion, providing strong evidence for a bow shock. The 30-year optical light curve revealed semi-regular variability, showing three similar dimming events with $\Delta V \sim 1$ mag, a recurrence of $\sim$12 yr, and a rise time of 400 d. We found the mid-IR light curve to vary by 0.51 mag and 0.37 mag in the WISE1 and WISE2 bands, respectively, and by 0.42 mag and 0.25 mag during the last dimming event. During this event, optical spectroscopy revealed spectral variability (M3I to M4I), a correlation between the $T_{\rm eff}$ and the brightness, increased extinction, and, after the minimum, spectral features incompatible with the models. We also found a difference of >300 K between the $T_{\rm eff}$ measured from the TiO bands in the optical and the atomic lines from our $J$-band spectroscopy. We inferred that [W60] B90 is a more massive analog of Betelgeuse in the LMC and the first extragalactic single RSG with a suspected bow shock. Its high luminosity $\log(L/L_{\odot})=5.32$, mass-loss rate, and mid-IR variability compared to other RSGs in the LMC, indicate that it is in an unstable evolutionary state undergoing episodes of mass loss.