The 2020 Eclipse of R Aquarii in the Near-infrared: Mid-eclipse Observations of Disk Distress

Abstract

Abstract The Mira in the bright, dusty, symbiotic binary R Aquarii undergoes eclipses of multiyear duration every ∼44 yr by a large, opaque accretion disk. The 2020 eclipse was confirmed by I-band photometry. High-resolution M- and K-band spectra were observed near the midpoint of the eclipse, in 2020 August and September. The 4.5–5.5 μm spectrum during eclipse is a complex blend of disk and Mira features. Continuum emission from the disk region contributes to both the 2.3 μm and 4.6 μm region. The lowest energy vibration-rotation CO lines contain multiple absorption features from ∼780 K gas flowing across the disk away from the Mira. CO fundamental and overtone emission lines are also present. The eccentricity of the orbit results in significant orbital variation in the size of the Roche lobes. At periastron the Roche radius of the secondary is ∼4.0 au, smaller than both the 5 au geometric radius for the disk and estimates for the disk size from models. Fundamental band CO 2–1 emission originates from a thin, eccentric ring with inner radius ∼4.75 au and outer radius ∼6.9 au. The CO emission is identified with regions where the disk has been disrupted near the time of periastron. CO 3–2 fundamental band lines and low-excitation lines in the CO 2–0 and 3–1 overtone bands originate in a Mira-facing spot, 6.3 au from the accretion disk center, near the inner Lagrange point.