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Sudden Extreme Obscuration of a Sun-like Main-sequence Star: Evolution of the Circumstellar Dust around ASASSN-21qj

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Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title> jats:pASASSN-21qj is a distant Sun-like star that recently began an episode of deep dimming events after no prior recorded variability. Here we examine archival and newly obtained optical and near-infrared data of this star. The deep aperiodic dimming and absence of previous infrared excess are reminiscent of KIC 8462852 (“Boyajian’s Star”). The observed occultations are consistent with a circumstellar cloud of submicron-sized dust grains composed of amorphous pyroxene, with a minimum mass of 1.50 ± 0.04 × 10jats:sup−9</jats:sup> jats:italicM</jats:italic> jats:sub⊕</jats:sub> derived from the deepest occultations, and a minimum grain size of jats:inline-formula jats:tex-math

</jats:tex-math> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> mml:msubsup mml:mrow mml:mn0.29</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> mml:mrow mml:mo−</mml:mo> mml:mn0.18</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> mml:mrow mml:mo+</mml:mo> mml:mn0.01</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> <mml:mspace width="0.25em" /> mml:miμ</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> </mml:math> <jats:inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="apjace629ieqn1.gif" xlink:type="simple" /> </jats:inline-formula> assuming a power-law size distribution. We further identify the first evidence of near-infrared excess in this system from NEOWISE 3.4 and 4.6 jats:italicμ</jats:italic>m observations. The excess emission implies a total circumstellar dust mass of around 10jats:sup−6</jats:sup> jats:italicM</jats:italic> jats:sub⊕</jats:sub>, comparable to the extreme, variable disks associated with terrestrial planet formation around young stars. The quasiperiodic recurrence of deep dips and the inferred dust temperature (ranging from 1800 to 700 K across the span of observations) independently point to an orbital distance of ≃0.2 au for the dust, supporting the occulting material and excess emission being causally linked. The origin of this extended, opaque cloud is surmised to be the breakup of one or more exocometary bodies.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

5109 Space Sciences, 51 Physical Sciences, 5101 Astronomical Sciences

Journal Title

Astrophysical Journal

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0004-637X
1538-4357

Volume Title

954

Publisher

American Astronomical Society
Sponsorship
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/S000623/1)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions (823823)