Kinematical study of the optical ejecta of GK Per

DOI

We present a kinematical study of the optical ejecta of GK Per. It is based on proper-motion measurements of 282 knots from ~20 images spanning 25 years. Doppler shifts are also computed for 217 knots. The combination of proper motions and radial velocities allows a unique three-dimensional view of the ejecta to be obtained. The main results are as follows: (1) the outflow is a thick shell in which knots expand with a significant range of velocities, mostly between 600 and 1000 km/s, (2) kinematical ages indicate that knots have suffered only a modest deceleration since their ejection a century ago, (3) no evidence for anisotropy in the expansion rate is found, (4) velocity vectors are generally aligned along the radial direction, but a symmetric pattern of non-radial velocities is also observed at specific directions, and (5) the total H{alpha}+[N II] flux has been linearly decreasing at a rate of 2.6% per year in the past decade. The eastern nebular side is fading at a slower rate than the western side. Some of the knots were displayed a rapid change of brightness during the 2004-2011 period. Over a longer timescale, a progressive circularization and homogenization of the nebula are taking place; (6) a kinematic distance of 400+/-30 pc is determined. These results raise some problems with the previous interpretations of the evolution of GK Per. In particular, the idea of a strong interaction of the outflow with the surrounding medium in the southwest quadrant is not supported by our data.

Identifier
DOI http://doi.org/10.26093/cds/vizier.17610034
Source https://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/lp/custom/CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/761/34
Related Identifier https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/761/34
Related Identifier https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/761/34
Metadata Access http://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/pmh/pubreg.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_b2find&identifier=ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/761/34
Provenance
Creator Liimets T.; Corradi R.L.M.; Santander-Garcia M.; Villaver E.,Rodriguez-Gil P.; Verro K.; Kolka I.
Publisher CDS
Publication Year 2014
Rights https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.html
OpenAccess true
Contact CDS support team <cds-question(at)unistra.fr>
Representation
Resource Type Dataset; AstroObjects
Discipline Astrophysics and Astronomy; Exoplanet Astronomy; Galactic and extragalactic Astronomy; Interstellar medium; Natural Sciences; Observational Astronomy; Physics; Stellar Astronomy