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SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is the new ESO instrument that is going to be installed on the 3.58-m New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory. SOXS is a single object spectrograph offering a wide simultaneous spectral coverage from U- to H-band. Although such an instrument may have potentially a large variety of applications, the consortium designed it with a clear science case: it is going to provide the spectroscopic counterparts to the ongoing and upcoming imaging surveys, becoming one of the main follow-up instruments in the Southern hemisphere for the classification and characterization of transients. The NTT+SOXS system is specialized to observe all transients and variable sources discovered by imaging surveys with a flexible schedule maintained by the consortium, based on a remote scheduler which will interface with the observatory software infrastructure. SOXS is realized timely to be highly synergic with transients discovery machines like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The instrument has been integrated and tested in Italy, collecting and assembling subsystems coming from all partners spread over six countries in three continents. The first preparatory activities in Chile have been completed at the telescope. This article gives an updated status of the project before the shipping of the instrument to Chile., Comment: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Studies of the magnetic characteristics of massive stars have recently received significant attention because they are progenitors of highly magnetised compact objects. Stars initially more massive than about 8M_sun leave behind neutron stars and black holes by the end of their evolution. The merging of binary compact remnant systems produces astrophysical transients detectable by gravitational wave observatories. Studies of magnetic fields in massive stars with low metallicities are of particular interest because they provide important information on the role of magnetic fields in the star formation of the early Universe. While several detections of massive Galactic magnetic stars have been reported in the last few decades, the impact of a low-metallicity environment on the occurrence and strength of stellar magnetic fields has not yet been explored. Because of the similarity between Of?p stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) and Galactic magnetic Of?p stars, which possess globally organised magnetic fields, we searched for magnetic fields in Of?p stars in the MCs. Additionally, we observed the massive contact binary Cl* NGC 346 SSN7 in the Small Magellanic Cloud to test the theoretical scenario that the origin of magnetic fields involves a merger event or a common envelope evolution. We obtained and analysed measurements of the magnetic field in four massive Of?p stars in the MCs and the binary Cl* NGC 346 SSN7 using the ESO/VLT FORS2 spectrograph in spectropolarimetric mode. We detected kilogauss-scale magnetic fields in two Of?p-type stars and in the contact binary Cl* NGC 346 SSN7. These results suggest that the impact of low metallicity on the occurrence and strength of magnetic fields in massive stars is low. However, because the explored stellar sample is very small, additional observations of massive stars in the MCs are necessary., Comment: 7 pages, 2 tables, 8 figures, published as a letter in A&A

Pulsations of rapidly oscillating Ap stars and their interaction with the stellar magnetic field have not been studied in the near-IR region despite the benefits these observations offer compared to visual wavelengths. The main advantage of the near-IR is the quadratic dependence of the Zeeman effect on the wavelength, as opposed to the linear dependence of the Doppler effect. To test pulsation diagnostics of roAp stars in the near-IR, we aim to investigate the pulsation behaviour of one of the brightest magnetic roAp stars, $\gamma$Equ, which possesses a strong surface magnetic field of the order of several kilogauss and exhibits magnetically split spectral lines in its spectra. Two magnetically split spectral lines belonging to different elements, the triplet Fe I at 1563.63nm and the pseudo-doublet Ce III at 1629.2nm, were recorded with CRIRES+ over about one hour in the H band with the aim of understanding the character of the line profile variability and the pulsation behaviour of the magnetic field modulus. The profile shapes of both studied magnetically split spectral lines vary in a rather complex manner probably due to a significant decrease in the strength of the longitudinal field component and an increase in the strength of the transverse field components over the last decade. A mean magnetic field modulus of 3.9kG was determined for the Fe I, whereas for the Ce III we observe only about 2.9kG. For comparison, a mean field modulus of 3.4kG was determined using the Zeeman doublet Fe II at 6249.25 in optical PEPSI spectra recorded just about two weeks before the CRIRES+ observations. Different effects that may lead to the differences in the field modulus values are discussed. Our measurements of the mean magnetic field modulus using the line profiles recorded in different pulsational phase bins suggest a field modulus variability of 32G for the Fe I and 102G for the Ce III., Comment: Accepted to be published in A&A

Tight relationships exist in the local universe between the central stellar properties of galaxies and the mass of their supermassive black hole. These suggest galaxies and black holes co-evolve, with the main regulation mechanism being energetic feedback from accretion onto the black hole during its quasar phase. A crucial question is how the relationship between black holes and galaxies evolves with time; a key epoch to probe this relationship is at the peaks of star formation and black hole growth 8-12 billion years ago (redshifts 1-3). Here we report a dynamical measurement of the mass of the black hole in a luminous quasar at a redshift of 2, with a look back time of 11 billion years, by spatially resolving the broad line region. We detect a 40 micro-arcsecond (0.31 pc) spatial offset between the red and blue photocenters of the H$\alpha$ line that traces the velocity gradient of a rotating broad line region. The flux and differential phase spectra are well reproduced by a thick, moderately inclined disk of gas clouds within the sphere of influence of a central black hole with a mass of 3.2x10$^{8}$ solar masses. Molecular gas data reveal a dynamical mass for the host galaxy of 6x10$^{11}$ solar masses, which indicates an under-massive black hole accreting at a super-Eddington rate. This suggests a host galaxy that grew faster than the supermassive black hole, indicating a delay between galaxy and black hole formation for some systems., Comment: 5 pages Main text, 8 figures, 2 tables, to be published in Nature, under embargo until 29 January 2024 16:00 (London)

Numerous delta Sct and gamma Dor pulsators are identified in the region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that is occupied by chemically peculiar magnetic Ap stars. The connection between delta Sct and gamma Dor pulsations and the magnetic field in Ap stars is however not clear: theory suggests for magnetic Ap stars some critical field strengths for pulsation mode suppression by computing the magnetic damping effect for selected p and g modes. To test these theoretical considerations, we obtained PEPSI spectropolarimetric snapshots of the typical Ap star HD340577, for which delta Sct-like pulsations were recently detected in TESS data, and the gamma Dor pulsator HR8799, which is a remarkable system with multiple planets and two debris disks. Our measurements reveal the presence of a magnetic field with a strength of several hundred Gauss in HD340577. The measured mean longitudinal field would be the strongest field measured so far in a delta Sct star if the pulsational character of HD340577 is confirmed spectroscopically. No magnetic field is detected in HR8799., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication as a letter to MNRAS

Studies of magnetic fields in the most evolved massive stars, the Wolf-Rayet stars, are of special importance because they are progenitors of certain types of supernovae. The first detection of a magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss in the WN7 star WR55, based on a few FORS2 low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations, was reported in 2020. In this work we present new FORS2 observations allowing us to detect magnetic and spectroscopic variability with a period of 11.90 h. No significant frequencies were detected in TESS and ASAS-SN photometric observations. Importantly, magnetic field detections are achieved currently only in two Wolf-Rayet stars, WR6 and WR55, both showing the presence of corotating interacting regions., Comment: Accepted to be published in MNRAS Letters

Although significant progress has been achieved in recent surveys of the magnetism in massive stars, the origin of the detected magnetic fields remains to be the least understood topic in their studies. We present an analysis of 61 high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of 36 systems with O-type primaries, among them ten known particle-accelerating colliding-wind binaries exhibiting synchrotron radio emission. Our sample consists of multiple systems with components at different evolutionary stages with wide and tight orbits and different types of interactions. For the treatment of the complex composite spectra of the multiple systems, we used a special procedure involving different line masks populated for each element separately. Out of the 36 systems, 22 exhibit in their LSD Stokes V profiles definitely detected Zeeman features, among them seven systems with colliding winds. For fourteen systems the detected Zeeman features are most likely associated with O-type components whereas for three systems we suggest an association with an early B-type component. For the remaining five systems the source of the field is unclear. Marginal evidence for the detection of a Zeeman feature is reported for eleven systems and non-detection for three systems. The large number of systems with definitely detected Zeeman features presents a mystery, but probably indicates that multiplicity plays a definite role in the generation of magnetic fields in massive stars. The newly found magnetic systems are supreme candidates for spectropolarimetric monitoring over their orbital and rotation periods to obtain trustworthy statistics on the magnetic field geometry and the distribution of field strength., Comment: 21 pages, 2 tables, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

In spite of the advent of extremely large telescopes in the UV/optical/NIR range, the current generation of 8-10m facilities is likely to remain competitive at ground-UV wavelengths for the foreseeable future. The Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph (CUBES) has been designed to provide high-efficiency (>40%) observations in the near UV (305-400 nm requirement, 300-420 nm goal) at a spectral resolving power of R>20,000, although a lower-resolution, sky-limited mode of R ~ 7,000 is also planned. CUBES will offer new possibilities in many fields of astrophysics, providing access to key lines of stellar spectra: a tremendous diversity of iron-peak and heavy elements, lighter elements (in particular Beryllium) and light-element molecules (CO, CN, OH), as well as Balmer lines and the Balmer jump (particularly important for young stellar objects). The UV range is also critical in extragalactic studies: the circumgalactic medium of distant galaxies, the contribution of different types of sources to the cosmic UV background, the measurement of H2 and primordial Deuterium in a regime of relatively transparent intergalactic medium, and follow-up of explosive transients. The CUBES project completed a Phase A conceptual design in June 2021 and has now entered the Phase B dedicated to detailed design and construction. First science operations are planned for 2028. In this paper, we briefly describe the CUBES project development and goals, the main science cases, the instrument design and the project organization and management., Comment: Proceedings for the HACK100 conference, Trieste, June 2022. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2208.01672

SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is a single object spectrograph offering a simultaneous spectral coverage from U- to H-band, built by an international consortium for the 3.58-m ESO New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory. It is designed to observe all kind of transients and variable sources discovered by different surveys with a highly flexible schedule maintained by the consortium, based on the Target of Opportunity concept. SOXS is going to be a fundamental spectroscopic partner for any kind of imaging survey, becoming one of the premier transient follow-up instruments in the Southern hemisphere. This paper gives an updated status of the project, when the instrument is in the advanced phase of integration and testing in Europe, prior to the activities in Chile., Comment: Proc. SPIE 12184, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IX, 121840O (2022)

Previous observations suggested that Ap and Bp stars exhibit a bimodal distribution of surface magnetic field strengths and that actually only few or no stars exist with magnetic dipole field strengths below 300 G down to a few Gauss. As the number of Ap and Bp stars currently known to possess weak magnetic fields is not large, it is necessary to carry out additional spectropolarimetric studies of Ap and Bp stars to prove whether the assumption of the existence of a critical value for the stability of magnetic fields is realistic. In this study, we present high-resolution HARPSpol magnetic field measurements for a sample of Ap stars with sharp spectral lines with a view to characterize the strengths of their magnetic fields. Out of the studied seven sharp-lined stars, two stars, HD 174779 and HD 203932, exhibit a rather weak longitudinal magnetic field with $\left< B_{\rm z}\right>=-45\pm3$ G and $\left< B_{\rm z}\right>=21\pm4$ G, respectively. Additionally, TESS observations were used to test previous conclusions on the differentiation of rotation periods of Ap and Bp stars. Apart from HD 189832 and HD 203932, all other studied sharp-lined stars have long rotation periods. Since an explanation for the slow rotation of Ap stars is currently missing, additional studies of slowly rotating Ap and Bp stars are necessary to improve our understanding of the formation and evolution of Ap and Bp stars., Comment: 13 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables. Accepted to be published in MNRAS

We aim at establishing safe membership and evolutionary status of 11 chemically peculiar (CP) stars that are residing in the domain of the open cluster NGC2516 and are frequently referred to as cluster members. We queried the Gaia EDR3 catalogue in an area with a radius of 1deg and selected 37508 stars brighter than G=19mag. The cluster membership was determined in parallax-proper motion-space and 719 probable and 764 possible members were found. The obtained average astrometric and photometric parameters of the cluster are in good agreement with the most recent literature data. The evolutionary status of the target stars was determined with respect to Padova isochrones. After minor adjustments including the metallicity, the reddening, and the transformation scale variation, a perfect fit of the model to the observations over the whole observed magnitude range was achieved. Only 5 of the 11 considered CP stars could be classified as highly probable cluster members. Among the Ap/Bp stars with previously detected magnetic fields HD65987 and HD65712 have a high membership probability and the magnetic star CPD-60 944B is a possible cluster member. Further we discuss the blue straggler nature of HD66194 and the magnetic star HD65987. To our knowledge, HD65987 is currently the only known blue straggler, with a field of the order of a few hundred Gauss. The most striking result of our study is that the strongly magnetic A0p star HD66318 with previously reported very low fractional age does not belong to the NGC2516 cluster at a high level of confidence., Comment: 12 pages, 4 tables, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present the results of high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of the optically dominant component in the rare hydrogen-deficient binary system upsilon Sgr. Only a small number of such systems in a very late phase of helium shell burning are currently known. The mass transfer from the donor star in binary systems usually leads to the stripping of its hydrogen envelope. Consequently, since the mass of the secondary increases, it appears rejuvenated. Using a few ESO FORS1 low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of this system, Hubrig et al. announced in 2009 the presence of a magnetic field of the order of -70 - -80G. Here we report on more recent high-resolution ESO HARPS spectropolarimetric observations showing that the primary in upsilon Sgr is a spectrum variable star and possesses a weak magnetic field of the order of a few tens of Gauss. The detection of a magnetic field in this rare hydrogen-deficient binary is of particular interest, as such systems are frequently discussed as probable progenitors of core-collapse supernovae and gravitational-wave sources. Future magnetic studies of such systems will be worthwhile to gain deeper insights into the role of magnetic fields in the evolution of massive stars in binary systems., Comment: 7 pages, 2 tables, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

GRAVITY+ is the upgrade of GRAVITY and the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) with wide-separation fringe tracking, new adaptive optics, and laser guide stars on all four 8~m Unit Telescopes (UTs), for ever fainter, all-sky, high contrast, milliarcsecond interferometry. Here we present the design and first results of the first phase of GRAVITY+, called GRAVITY Wide. GRAVITY Wide combines the dual-beam capabilities of the VLTI and the GRAVITY instrument to increase the maximum separation between the science target and the reference star from 2 arcseconds with the 8 m UTs up to several 10 arcseconds, limited only by the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. This increases the sky-coverage of GRAVITY by two orders of magnitude, opening up milliarcsecond resolution observations of faint objects, and in particular the extragalactic sky. The first observations in 2019 - 2022 include first infrared interferometry of two redshift $z\sim2$ quasars, interferometric imaging on the binary system HD 105913A, and repeated observations of multiple star systems in the Orion Trapezium Cluster. We find the coherence loss between the science object and fringe-tracking reference star well described by the turbulence of the Earth's atmosphere. We confirm that the larger apertures of the UTs result in higher visibilities for a given separation due to larger overlap of the projected pupils on sky and give predictions for visibility loss as a function of separation to be used for future planning., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables. Accepted by A&A

The O9.7 V star HD 54879 is currently the only massive magnetic star whose magnetic field geometry and rotation period are not constrained. Over the last three years, we gathered additional observations of this star, obtained using various instruments at several astronomical facilities with, the aim to constrain the rotation period and the magnetic field geometry. The new data include the first full Stokes vector observations with the PEPSI spectropolarimeter, installed at the Large Binocular Telescope. The acquired spectropolarimetric observations show a very slow magnetic field variability related to the extremely slow rotation of HD 54879, which is also indicated in a dynamical spectrum, displaying variability of the H$\alpha$ line. The most intriguing result of our study is the discovery of differences in longitudinal magnetic field strengths measured using different LSD masks containing lines belonging to different elements. It is the first time that such a differential analysis of the field strength in dependence of the used lines is carried out for a magnetic O-type star. Since the LSD Stokes $I$ profiles of the studied O, Si, and He line masks remain stable over all observing epochs, we conclude that the detection of different field strengths using lines belonging to these elements is related to the different formation depths, with the He lines formed much higher in the stellar atmosphere compared to the silicon and the oxygen lines, and NLTE effects. Our numerical magnetospherical model suggests the presence of enhanced gas density that fills the volume inside the field lines close to the star., Comment: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society

Context: FS Canis Majoris (FS CMa, HD 45677) is an unclassified B[e] star surrounded by an inclined dust disk. The evolutionary stage of FS CMa is still debated. Perpendicular to the circumstellar disk, a bipolar outflow was detected. Infrared aperture-synthesis imaging provides us with a unique opportunity to study the disk structure. Aims: Our aim is to study the intensity distribution of the disk of FS CMa in the mid-infrared L and N bands. Methods: We performed aperture-synthesis imaging of FS CMa with the MATISSE instrument (Multi AperTure mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment) in the low spectral resolution mode to obtain images in the L and N bands. We computed radiative transfer models that reproduce the L- and N-band intensity distributions of the resolved disks. Results: We present L- and N-band aperture-synthesis images of FS CMa reconstructed in the wavelength bands of 3.4-3.8 and 8.6-9.0 micrometer. In the L-band image, the inner rim region of an inclined circumstellar disk and the central object can be seen with a spatial resolution of 2.7 milliarcsec (mas). An inner disk cavity with an angular diameter of 6x12mas is resolved. The L-band disk consists of a bright northwestern (NW) disk region and a much fainter southeastern (SE) region. The images suggest that we are looking at the bright inner wall of the NW disk rim, which is on the far side of the disk. In the N band, only the bright NW disk region is seen. In addition to deriving the inclination and the inner disk radius, fitting the reconstructed brightness distributions via radiative transfer modeling allows one to constrain the innermost disk structure, in particular the shape of the inner disk rim., Comment: accepted for publication in A&A

Context:Optical interferometry is at a key development stage. ESO's VLTI has established a stable, robust infrastructure for long-baseline interferometry for general astronomical observers. The present second-generation instruments offer a wide wavelength coverage and improved performance. Their sensitivity and measurement accuracy lead to data and images of high reliability. Aims:We have developed MATISSE, the Multi AperTure mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment, to access high resolution imaging in a wide spectral domain and explore topics such: stellar activity and mass loss; planet formation and evolution in the gas and dust disks around young stars; accretion processes around super massive black holes in AGN. Methods:The instrument is a spectro-interferometric imager covering three atmospheric bands (L,M,N) from 2.8 to 13.0 mu, combining four optical beams from the VLTI's telscopes. Its concept, related observing procedure, data reduction and calibration approach are the product of 30 years of instrumental research. The instrument utilizes a multi-axial beam combination that delivers spectrally dispersed fringes. The signal provides the following quantities at several spectral resolutions: photometric flux, coherent fluxes, visibilities, closure phases, wavelength differential visibilities and phases, and aperture-synthesis imaging. Results:We provide an overview of the physical principle of the instrument and its functionalities, the characteristics of the delivered signal, a description of the observing modes and of their performance limits. An ensemble of data and reconstructed images are illustrating the first acquired key observations. Conclusion:The instrument has been in operation at Cerro Paranal, ESO, Chile since 2018, and has been open for science use by the international community since April 2019. The first scientific results are being published now., Comment: 24 pages, 26 figures, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present the first short time scale observations of the roAp star gamma Equ in linear polarized light obtained with the PEPSI polarimeter installed at the LBT. These observations are used to search for pulsation variability in Stokes Q and U line profiles belonging to different elements. The atmospheres of roAp stars are significantly stratified with spectral lines of different elements probing different atmospheric depths. roAp stars with strong magnetic fields, such as gamma Equ with a magnetic field modulus of 4kG and a pulsation period of 12.21min, are of special interest because the effect of the magnetic field on the structure of their atmospheres can be studied with greatest detail and accuracy. Our results show that we may detect changes in the transversal field component in Fe I and rare-earth lines possessing large second-order Lande factors. Such variability can be due to the impact of pulsation on the transverse magnetic field, causing changes in the obliquity angles of the magnetic force lines. Further studies of roAp stars in linear polarized light and subsequent detailed modelling are necessary to improve our understanding of the involved physics., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication as a letter to MNRAS

The nature of circumstellar envelopes (CSE) around Cepheids is still a matter of debate. The physical origin of their infrared (IR) excess could be either a shell of ionized gas, or a dust envelope, or both. This study aims at constraining the geometry and the IR excess of the environment of the long-period Cepheid $\ell$ Car (P=35.5 days) at mid-IR wavelengths to understand its physical nature. We first use photometric observations in various bands and Spitzer Space Telescope spectroscopy to constrain the IR excess of $\ell$ Car. Then, we analyze the VLTI/MATISSE measurements at a specific phase of observation, in order to determine the flux contribution, the size and shape of the environment of the star in the L band. We finally test the hypothesis of a shell of ionized gas in order to model the IR excess. We report the first detection in the L band of a centro-symmetric extended emission around l Car, of about 1.7$R_\star$ in FWHM, producing an excess of about 7.0\% in this band. In the N band, there is no clear evidence for dust emission from VLTI/MATISSE correlated flux and Spitzer data. On the other side, the modeled shell of ionized gas implies a more compact CSE ($1.13\pm0.02\,R_\star$) and fainter (IR excess of 1\% in the L band). We provide new evidences for a compact CSE of $\ell$ Car and we demonstrate the capabilities of VLTI/MATISSE for determining common properties of CSEs. While the compact CSE of $\ell$ Car is probably of gaseous nature, the tested model of a shell of ionized gas is not able to simultaneously reproduce the IR excess and the interferometric observations. Further Galactic Cepheids observations with VLTI/MATISSE are necessary for determining the properties of CSEs, which may also depend on both the pulsation period and the evolutionary state of the stars., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics

NGC 1624-2 is an O7f?p star with a reported probable polar magnetic field strength $\ge$ 20 kG, which is the strongest magnetic field ever measured in an O-type star. We study the variability of the mean longitudinal magnetic field $\langle B_z \rangle$ and the mean field modulus $\langle B \rangle$ to obtain constraints on its field geometry. Only one magnetic pole is observable over the rotation cycle. The approximately sinusoidal variation of $\langle B_z \rangle$ and the ratio of the values of the extrema of $\langle B \rangle$ indicate that there is an important component of the field that is dipolar. The $\langle B_z \rangle$ values measured over the rotation cycle are in the range from $-0.2$ to 4.5 kG, whereas the values for $\langle B \rangle$ vary between 9 and 12 kG. The $\langle B_z \rangle$ values obtained using the O III $\lambda$7455 emission line are in the range from 0.4 to 2.3 kG and show a variability pattern similar to that detected for the absorption lines. The fact that the phase of the $\langle B_z \rangle$ minimum coincides with the phase of the $\langle B \rangle$ maximum, indicates that the field structure must significantly depart from a centred dipole. Further, we discuss the nature of the observed variable Stokes $V$ profiles corresponding to a longitudinal field of negative polarity detected in the emission He I lines and present the first MHD numerical simulations of the gas flow in the magnetosphere of this star., Comment: Accepted to be published in MNRAS

Context. The inner few au region of planet-forming disks is a complex environment. High angular resolution observations have a key role in understanding the disk structure and the dynamical processes at work. Aims. In this study we aim to characterize the mid-infrared brightness distribution of the inner disk of the young intermediate-mass star HD 163296, from VLTI/MATISSE observations. Methods. We use geometric models to fit the data. Our models include a smoothed ring, a flat disk with inner cavity, and a 2D Gaussian. The models can account for disk inclination and for azimuthal asymmetries as well. We also perform numerical hydro-dynamical simulations of the inner edge of the disk. Results. Our modeling reveals a significant brightness asymmetry in the L-band disk emission. The brightness maximum of the asymmetry is located at the NW part of the disk image, nearly at the position angle of the semimajor axis. The surface brightness ratio in the azimuthal variation is $3.5 \pm 0.2$. Comparing our result on the location of the asymmetry with other interferometric measurements, we confirm that the morphology of the $r<0.3$ au disk region is time-variable. We propose that this asymmetric structure, located in or near the inner rim of the dusty disk, orbits the star. For the physical origin of the asymmetry, we tested a hypothesis where a vortex is created by Rossby wave instability, and we find that a unique large scale vortex may be compatible with our data. The half-light radius of the L-band emitting region is $0.33\pm 0.01$ au, the inclination is ${52^\circ}^{+5^\circ}_{-7^\circ}$, and the position angle is $143^\circ \pm 3^\circ$. Our models predict that a non-negligible fraction of the L-band disk emission originates inside the dust sublimation radius for $\mu$m-sized grains. Refractory grains or large ($\gtrsim 10\ \mu$m-sized) grains could be the origin for this emission., Comment: accepted for publication in A&A

Magnetic fields in Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are not well explored, although there is indirect evidence, e.g. from spectral variability and X-ray emission, that magnetic fields should be present in these stars. Being in an advanced stage of their evolution, WR stars have lost their hydrogen envelope, but their dense winds make the stellar core almost unobservable. To substantiate the expectations on the presence of magnetic fields in the most-evolved massive stars, we selected two WR stars, WR46 and WR55, for the search of the presence of magnetic fields using FORS2 spectropolarimetric observations. We achieve a formally definite detection of a variable mean longitudinal magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss in WR55. The field detection in this star, which is associated with the ring nebula RCW78 and the molecular environment, is of exceptional importance for our understanding of star formation. No field detection at a significance level of 3sigma was achieved for WR46, but the variability of the measured field strengths can be rather well phased with the rotation period of 15.5h previously suggested by FUSE observations., Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 3 figures, accepted for publication as a letter to MNRAS

The Bp star HD94660 is a single-lined spectroscopic binary. Some authors have suggested that the unseen companion of at least 2M_sun may be a compact object. We intend to study this multiple system in detail, especially to learn more about the so-far unseen companion. We have collected and analyzed PIONIER H-band data from the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, TESS visible photometric data, and X-ray observations with Chandra of HD94660. Using PIONIER, we were able to detect the companion to HD94660, which is absent from high quality spectra at visible wavelengths, with a magnitude difference of 1.8 in the H band at a separation of 18.72mas. The TESS light curve shows variations with a period of 2.1d and also flaring. The Chandra spectrum is well described by emission from hot thermal plasma, yet might include a non-thermal component. The X-ray properties are compatible with a magnetically active companion, while some magnetospheric contribution from the primary is also possible. We can rule out that the companion to HD94660 is a compact source. It is also very unlikely that this companion is a single star, as the estimated mass of more than 2M_sun, the magnitude difference of 1.8 in the H band, and its non-detection in visible spectra are difficult to realize in a single object. One alternative could be a pair of late F stars, which would also be responsible for the detected photometric variations. Interferometric observations over the full binary orbit are necessary to determine the real mass of the companion and to add constraints on the overall geometry of the system., Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

The main-sequence mercury-manganese (HgMn) stars are known to exhibit large overabundances of exotic elements and, similar to magnetic Ap/Bp stars, are spectrum variables, implying the presence of an inhomogeneous element distribution over the stellar surface. A number of magnetic field studies have been attempted in the last decades, indicating that magnetic fields in HgMn stars, if they exist, should be rather weak. The presence of tangled magnetic fields was suggested by several authors who detected quadratic magnetic fields using the moment technique. We employ the least-squares deconvolution technique to carry out a sensitive search for weak magnetic fields in spectropolarimetric observations of three HgMn stars, HD221507, HD65949, and HD101189, which have different fundamental parameters and spectral characteristics. A definite weak longitudinal field is discovered in HD221507 and HD65949 on single epochs, while only marginal field detections were achieved for HD101189. The new measurements indicate that the structure of the magnetic fields is probably rather complex: our analysis reveals the presence of reversed Stokes V profiles at the same observational epoch if individual elements are used in the measurements. This is the first observational evidence that individual elements sample distinct local magnetic fields of different polarity across the stellar surface., Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 3 figures, accepted for publication as MNRAS Letter

The first FORS2 spectropolarimetric observation of the longitudinal magnetic field of HD54879 of the order of -600G with a lower limit of the dipole strength of ~2kG dates back to 2014. Since then observations showed a gradual decrease of the absolute value of the mean longitudinal magnetic field. In the course of the most recent monitoring of HD54879 using FORS2 spectropolarimetric observations from 2017 October to 2018 February, a longitudinal magnetic field strength change from about -300G down to about -90G was reported. A sudden increase of the absolute value of the mean longitudinal magnetic field and an accompanying spectral variability was detected on 2018 February 17. New FORS2 spectropolarimetric data obtained from 2018 December to 2019 February confirm the very slow magnetic field variability, with the field decreasing from about 150G to -100G over two months. Such a slow magnetic field variability, related to the extremely slow rotation of HD54879, is also confirmed using high-resolution HARPSpol and ESPaDOnS spectropolarimetry. The re-analysis of the FORS2 polarimetric spectra from 2018 February indicates that the previously reported field increase and the change of the spectral appearance was caused by improper spectra extraction and wavelength calibration using observations obtained at an insufficient signal-to-noise ratio. The presented properties of HD54879 are discussed in the context of the Of?p spectral classification., Comment: 8 pages, 2 tables, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We investigate the stellar atmospheres of the two components of the Herbig Ae SB2 system AK Sco to determine the elements present in the stars and their abundance. Equal stellar parameters T_eff = 6500K and log g = 4.5 were used for both stars. We studied HARPSpol spectra (resolution 110,000) that were previously used to state the presence of a weak magnetic field in the secondary. A composite synthetic spectrum was compared in the whole observed region lambda 3900-6912A with the observed spectrum. The abundances were derived mostly from unblended profiles, in spite of their sparsity, owing to the complexity of the system and to the not negligible v sin i of 18km/s and 21km/s adopted for the two components, respectively. The identified elements are those typical of stars with spectral type F5IV-V, except for Li I at 6707A and He I at 5875.61A, whose presence is related with the Herbig nature of the two stars. Furthermore, overabundances were determined in both stars for Y, Ba, and La. Zirconium is overabundant only in the primary, while sulfur is overabundant outside the adopted error limits only in the secondary. In contrast to previous results showing a high occurrence rate of lambda Boo peculiarities or normal chemical composition among the Herbig Ae/Be stars, the abundance pattern of AK Sco is similar to that of only few other Herbig stars displaying weak Ap/Bp peculiarities. A few accretion diagnostic lines are discussed., Comment: 17 pages, 3 tables, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

In recent years Herbig Ae/Be stars receive considerable attention as their disks are believed to be the sites of on-going planet formation. Confirming the presence of magnetic fields in these stars is critical for understanding the transport of angular momentum during the protostellar phase. Furthermore, magnetic fields set the conditions for strongly anisotropic accretion. In this study we present the results of our recent observing campaigns of a sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars aimed at measurements of their magnetic fields applying the Singular Value Decomposition method to high resolution spectropolarimetric observations. The strongest longitudinal magnetic field of 209 G is detected in the Herbig Be star HD 58647, whereas the weakest field of 17 G is measured in the Herbig Ae star HD 190073. A change of polarity is detected for HD 58647 and in the Herbig Be star HD 98922. The obtained results provide further evidence that Herbig Ae/Be stars possess much weaker magnetic fields than their lower mass counterpart T Tauri stars with magnetic fields of kG order., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted to be published in MNRAS

Context. One of the keys to understanding the origin of the Ap stars and their significance in the general context of stellar astrophysics is the consideration of the most extreme properties displayed by some of them. In that context, HD 965 is particularly interesting, as it combines some of the most pronounced chemical peculiarities with one of the longest rotation periods known. Aims. We characterise the variations of the magnetic field of the Ap star HD 965 and derive constraints about its structure. Methods. We combine published measurements of the mean longitudinal field of HD 965 with new determinations of this field moment from circular spectropolarimetry obtained at the 6-m telescope BTA of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. For the mean magnetic field modulus , literature data are complemented by the analysis of ESO archive spectra. Results. We present the first determination of the rotation period of HD 965, P = (16.5+/-0.5) y. HD 965 is only the third Ap star with a period longer than 10 years for which magnetic field measurements have been obtained over more than a full cycle. The variation curve of is well approximated by a cosine wave. does not show any significant variation. The observed behaviour of these field moments is well represented by a simple model consisting of the superposition of collinear dipole, quadrupole and octupole. The distribution of neodymium over the surface of HD 965 is highly non-uniform. The element appears concentrated around the magnetic poles, especially the negative one. Conclusions. The shape of the longitudinal magnetic variation curve of HD 965 indicates that its magnetic field is essentially symmetric about an axis passing through the centre of the star. Overall, as far as its magnetic field is concerned, HD 965 appears similar to the bulk of the long-period Ap stars., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1902.05869

We present longitudinal magnetic field measurements $\langle B_z \rangle$ for the Herbig Ae primary and the T Tauri secondary in the SB2 system HD 104237. These measurements were carried out using high spectral resolution observations obtained with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher in polarimetric mode, installed at the ESO La Silla 3.6 m telescope. In agreement with previous studies of Herbig Ae stars, the longitudinal magnetic field in the primary is rather weak, ranging from 47 G to 72 G. The secondary component possesses a variable, much stronger magnetic field, up to 600 G, as expected for a magnetically active T Tauri star. We estimated the rotation period of the primary, $P_{\mathrm{rot}}=4.33717\pm0.00316$ d ($=104\pm0.08$ h), from metal line equivalent width variations., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted to be published in MNRAS

Context. The Ap stars that rotate extremely slowly, with periods of decades to centuries, represent one of the keys to the understanding of the processes leading to the differentiation of stellar rotation. Aims. We characterise the variations of the magnetic field of the Ap star HD 50169 and derive constraints about its structure. Methods. We combine published measurements of the mean longitudinal field of HD 50169 with new determinations of this field moment from circular spectropolarimetry obtained at the 6-m telescope BTA of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. For the mean magnetic field modulus , literature data are complemented by the analysis of ESO spectra, both newly acquired and from the archive. Radial velocities are also obtained from these spectra. Results. We present the first determination of the rotation period of HD 50169, Prot = (29.04+/-0.82) y. HD 50169 is currently the longest-period Ap star for which magnetic field measurements have been obtained over more than a full cycle. The variation curves of both and have a significant degree of anharmonicity, and there is a definite phase shift between their respective extrema. We confirm that HD 50169 is a wide spectroscopic binary, refine its orbital elements, and suggest that the secondary is probably a dwarf star of spectral type M. Conclusions. The shapes and mutual phase shifts of the derived magnetic variation curves unquestionably indicate that the magnetic field of HD 50169 is not symmetric about an axis passing through its centre. Overall, HD 50169 appears similar to the bulk of the long-period Ap stars., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Only eleven O-type stars have been confirmed to possess large-scale organized magnetic fields. The presence of a -600G longitudinal magnetic field in the O9.7V star HD54879 with a lower limit of the dipole strength of ~2kG, was discovered a few years ago in the framework of the ESO large program "B-fields in OB stars". Our FORS2 spectropolarimetric observations from 2017 October 4 to 2018 February 21 reveal the presence of short and long-term spectral variability and a gradual magnetic field decrease from about -300G down to about -90G. Surprisingly, we discover on the night of 2018 February 17 a sudden, short-term increase of the magnetic field strength and measure a longitudinal magnetic field of -833G. The inspection of the FORS2 spectrum acquired during the observed magnetic field increase indicates a very strong change in spectral appearance with a significantly lower photospheric temperature and a decrease of the radial velocity by several 10km/s. Different scenarios are discussed in an attempt to interpret our observations. The FORS2 radial velocity measurements indicate that HD54879 is a member of a long-period binary., Comment: 13 pages, 4 tables, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Models of magnetically driven accretion reproduce many observational properties of T Tauri stars. For the more massive Herbig Ae/Be stars, the corresponding picture has been questioned lately, in part driven by the fact that their magnetic fields are typically one order of magnitude weaker. Indeed, the search for magnetic fields in Herbig Ae/Be stars has been quite time consuming, with a detection rate of about 7%, also limited by the current potential to detect weak magnetic fields. Over the last two decades, magnetic fields were found in about twenty objects and for only two Herbig Ae/Be stars was the magnetic field geometry constrained. Further, studies were undertaken to investigate the time dependence of spectroscopic tracers of magnetospheric accretion. Overall, it seems that while there is proof that magneospheric accretion is present in some Herbig Ae stars, there is less evidence for the Herbig Be stars., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, to appear in "Physics of magnetic stars", 2018 October 1-5, Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russia. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1308.6777

Almost three decades ago, Mathys (1990) demonstrated the importance of studying Ap stars showing resolved Zeeman split Fe II 6147.7 and 6149.2 lines. Such Zeeman split lines can be seen in stars whose projected rotational velocity is sufficiently small and whose magnetic field is strong enough to exceed the rotational Doppler broadening. Observations of resolved Zeeman split lines permit the diagnosis of the average of the modulus of the magnetic field over the visible stellar hemisphere. Although Zeeman splitting is not expected in faster rotating hot massive stars, we have recently been discovering early B-type stars displaying magnetically split spectral lines., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in "Radiative signatures from the Cosmos: A meting in honor of Ivan Hubeny", 2018 October 23-26, Paris, France

HD 21190 is a known $\delta$ Scuti star showing Ap star characteristics and a variability period of 3.6 h discovered by the Hipparcos mission. Using Gaia DR1 data for an astrometric analysis, it was recently suggested that HD 21190 forms a physical binary system with the companion CPD -83$^{\circ}$ 64B. An atmospheric chemical analysis based on HARPS observations revealed the presence of overabundances of heavy and rare-earth elements, which are typically observed in chemically peculiar stars with large-scale organized magnetic fields. Previous observations of HD 21190 indicated a magnetic field strength of a few hundred Gauss. The presence of a magnetic field in CPD -83$^{\circ}$ 64B remained unexplored. In this work, we reanalyse this system using Gaia DR2 data and present our search for the magnetic field in both stars based on multi-epoch HARPSpol high-resolution and FORS 2 low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations. The Gaia DR2 results clearly indicate that the two star are not physically associated. A magnetic field detection at a significance level of more than 6$\sigma$ ($\left< B_{\rm z}\right>_{\rm all}=230\pm38$ G) was achieved for the $\delta$ Scuti variable HD 21190 in FORS 2 observations using the entire spectrum for the measurements. The magnetic field appears to be stronger in CPD -83$^{\circ}$ 64B. The highest value for the longitudinal magnetic field in CPD -83$^{\circ}$ 64B, $\left< B_{\rm z}\right>_{\rm all}=509\pm104$ G, is measured at a significance level of 4.9$\sigma$. Furthermore, the high-resolution HARPS\-pol observations of this component indicate the presence of pulsational variability on a time scale of tens of minutes., Comment: MNRAS, accepted

HD 149277 is a rare SB2 system with a slowly rotating magnetic He-rich primary with $P_{\rm rot}=25.4$ d. The CFHT/ESPaDOnS archive spectra revealed $P_{\rm orb}=11.5192 \pm 0.0005$ d indicating strong subsynchronous rotation of the primary component. Such a strong subsynchronous rotation was not detected in any other SB2 system with a magnetic chemically peculiar component. Our inspection of the spectra revealed the presence of resolved Zeeman split spectral lines allowing us to determine the variability of the mean magnetic field modulus over the rotation period. The maximum of the magnetic field modulus concides roughly with the positive extremum of the longitudinal field, whereas the minimum of the modulus with the negative extremum of the longitudinal field. No evidence for a longitudinal magnetic field was seen in the circularly polarized spectra of the secondary component. Using archival data from the ASAS3 survey, we find in the frequency spectrum only one significant peak, corresponding to the period $P_{\rm phot}=25.390 \pm 0.014$ d. This value is in good agreements with the previous determination of the rotation period, $P_{\rm rot}=25.380\pm0.007$ d, which was based on longitudinal magnetic field measurements., Comment: Accepted as MNRAS Letter

We focus on early-B type stars with helium overabundance, for which the presence of a magnetic field has not previously been reported. The measurements were carried out using high-spectral-resolution spectropolarimetric observations obtained with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) in polarimetric mode, installed at the ESO La Silla 3.6m telescope. For five He-rich stars, the longitudinal magnetic field was detected for the first time. For one target, HD58260, the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field of the order of 1.8 kG has already been reported in the literature, but the magnetic field has remained constant over tens of years. Our measurement carried out using the polarimetric spectra obtained in 2015 March indicates a slight decrease of the longitudinal magnetic field strength compared to measurements reported in previous works. A search for periodic modulation in available photometric data allowed us to confidently establish a period of 2.64119$\pm$0.00420 d in archival ASAS3 data for CPD -27$^{\circ}$ 1791. No period could be determined for the other five stars. The obtained results support the scenario that all He-rich stars are detectably magnetic and form an extension of the Ap star phenomenon to higher temperatures., Comment: Accepted as A&A Letter

Eta Car is one of the most intriguing luminous blue variables in the Galaxy. Observations and models at different wavelengths suggest a central binary with a 5.54 yr period residing in its core. 2D and 3D radiative transfer and hydrodynamic simulations predict a primary with a dense and slow stellar wind that interacts with the faster and lower density wind of the secondary. The wind-wind collision scenario suggests that the secondary's wind penetrates the primary's wind creating a low-density cavity in it, with dense walls where the two winds interact. We aim to trace the inner ~5-50 au structure of Eta Car's wind-wind interaction, as seen through BrG and, for the first time, through the He I 2s-2p line. We have used spectro-interferometric observations with GRAVITY at the VLTI. Our modeling of the continuum allows us to estimate its FWHM angular size close to 2 mas and an elongation ratio of 1.06 +/- 0.05 over a PA = 130 +/- 20 deg. Our CMFGEN modeling helped us to confirm that the role of the secondary should be taken into account to properly reproduce the observed BrG and He I lines. Chromatic images across BrG reveal a southeast arc-like feature, possibly associated to the hot post-shocked winds flowing along the cavity wall. The images of He I 2s-2p served to constrain the 20 mas structure of the line-emitting region. The observed morphology of He I suggests that the secondary is responsible for the ionized material that produces the line profile. Both the BrG and the He I 2s-2p maps are consistent with previous hydrodynamical models of the colliding wind scenario. Future dedicated simulations together with an extensive interferometric campaign are necessary to refine our constraints on the wind and stellar parameters of the binary, which finally will help us predict the evolutionary path of Eta Car., Comment: 32 pages, 27 figures (14 in the main body, 13 in the appendices), accepted for publication in AA

The highly elliptical, 16-year-period orbit of the star S2 around the massive black hole candidate Sgr A* is a sensitive probe of the gravitational field in the Galactic centre. Near pericentre at 120 AU, ~1400 Schwarzschild radii, the star has an orbital speed of ~7650 km/s, such that the first-order effects of Special and General Relativity have now become detectable with current capabilities. Over the past 26 years, we have monitored the radial velocity and motion on the sky of S2, mainly with the SINFONI and NACO adaptive optics instruments on the ESO Very Large Telescope, and since 2016 and leading up to the pericentre approach in May 2018, with the four-telescope interferometric beam-combiner instrument GRAVITY. From data up to and including pericentre, we robustly detect the combined gravitational redshift and relativistic transverse Doppler effect for S2 of z ~ 200 km/s / c with different statistical analysis methods. When parameterising the post-Newtonian contribution from these effects by a factor f, with f = 0 and f = 1 corresponding to the Newtonian and general relativistic limits, respectively, we find from posterior fitting with different weighting schemes f = 0.90 +/- 0.09 (stat) +\- 0.15 (sys). The S2 data are inconsistent with pure Newtonian dynamics., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters, 29 June 2018, 10 pages, 6 figures, corresponding author: F. Eisenhauer

We report the detection of weak mean longitudinal magnetic fields in the Herbig Ae double-lined spectroscopic binary AK Sco and in the presumed spectroscopic Herbig Ae binary HD95881 using observations with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher polarimeter (HARPSpol) attached to the European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) 3.6m telescope. Employing a multi-line singular value decomposition (SVD) method, we detect a mean longitudinal magnetic field =-83+-31G in the secondary component of AK Sco on one occasion. For HD95881, we measure =-93+-25G and =105+-29G at two different observing epochs. For all the detections the false alarm probability is smaller than 10^-5. For AK Sco system, we discover that accretion diagnostic Na I doublet lines and photospheric lines show intensity variations over the observing nights. The double-lined spectral appearance of HD95881 is presented here for the first time.

Since its discovery more than half a century ago Przybylski's star (HD101065) continues to excite the astronomical community by the unusual nature of its spectrum, exhibiting exotic element abundances. This star was also the first magnetic chemically peculiar A-type star for which the presence of rapid oscillations was established. Our analysis of newly acquired and historic longitudinal magnetic field measurements indicates that Przybylski's star is also unusual with respect to its extremely slow rotation. Adopting a dipolar structure for the magnetic field and using a sine wave fit to all reported longitudinal magnetic field values over the last 43yr, we find a probable rotation period P_rot ~ 188yr, which however has to be considered tentative as it does not represent a unique solution and has to be verified by future observations. Additionally, based on our own spectropolarimetric material obtained with HARPSpol, we discuss the impact of the anomalous structure of its atmosphere, in particular of the non-uniform horizontal and vertical distributions of chemical elements on the magnetic field measurements and the pulsational variability. Anomalies related to the vertical abundance stratification of Pr and Nd are for the first time used to establish the presence of a radial magnetic field gradient., Comment: 11 pages, 4 tables, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

$\xi^{1}$ CMa is a known magnetic star showing rotationally modulated magnetic variability with a period of 2.17937 d. However, recent work based on high-resolution spectropolarimetry suggests that the rotation period is longer than 30 years. We compare our new spectropolarimetric measurements with FORS 2 at the VLT acquired on three consecutive nights in 2017 to previous FORS 1/2 measurements of the longitudinal magnetic field strength. The new longitudinal magnetic field values are in the range from 115 to 240 G and do not support the presence of a long period., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

Recent XMM-Newton observations of the B2 type star rho Oph A indicated a periodicity of 1.205d, which was ascribed to rotational modulation. Since variability of X-ray emission in massive stars is frequently the signature of a magnetic field, we investigated whether the presence of a magnetic field can indeed be invoked to explain the observed X-ray peculiarity. Two FORS2 spectropolarimetric observations in different rotation phases revealed the presence of a negative (_all=-419+-101G) and positive (_all=538+-69G) longitudinal magnetic field, respectively. We estimate a lower limit for the dipole strength as B_d = 1.9+-0.2kG. Our calculations of the Kepler and Alfven radii imply the presence of a centrifugally supported, magnetically confined plasma around rho Oph A. The study of the spectral variability indicates a behaviour similar to that observed in typical magnetic early-type Bp stars., Comment: 7 pages, 1 table, 5 figures, accepted for publication in AN

A significant fraction of high-mass X-ray binaries are supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs). The prime model for the physics governing their X-ray behaviour suggests that the winds of donor OB supergiants are magnetized. To investigate if magnetic fields are indeed present in the optical counterparts of such systems, we acquired low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of the two optically brightest SFXTs, IGR J08408-4503 and IGR J11215-5952 with the ESO FORS2 instrument during two different observing runs. No field detection at a significance level of 3sigma was achieved for IGR J08408-4503. For IGR J11215-5952, we obtain 3.2sigma and 3.8sigma detections (_hydr = -978+-308G and _hydr = 416+-110G) on two different nights in 2016. These results indicate that the model involving the interaction of a magnetized stellar wind with the neutron star magnetosphere can indeed be considered to characterize the behaviour of SFXTs. We detected long-term spectral variability in IGR J11215-5952, while for IGR J08408-4503 we find an indication of the presence of short-term variability on a time scale of minutes., Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

To investigate the inner regions of protoplanetary disks, we performed near-infrared interferometric observations of the classical TTauri binary system S CrA. We present the first VLTI-GRAVITY high spectral resolution ($R\sim$4000) observations of a classical TTauri binary, S CrA (composed of S CrA N and S CrA S and separated by $\sim$1.4"), combining the four 8-m telescopes in dual-field mode. Our observations in the near-infrared K-band continuum reveal a disk around each binary component, with similar half-flux radii of about 0.1 au at d$\sim$130 pc, inclinations ($i=$28$\pm$3$^o$\ and $i=$22$\pm$6$^o$), and position angles (PA=0$^o\pm$6$^o$ and PA=-2$^o\pm$12$^o$), suggesting that they formed from the fragmentation of a common disk. The S CrA N spectrum shows bright HeI and Br$\gamma$ line emission exhibiting inverse P-Cygni profiles, typically associated with infalling gas. The continuum-compensated Br$\gamma$ line visibilities of S CrA N show the presence of a compact Br$\gamma$ emitting region the radius of which is about $\sim$0.06 au, which is twice as big as the truncation radius. This component is mostly tracing a wind. Moreover, a slight radius change between the blue- and red-shifted Br$\gamma$ line components is marginally detected. The presence of an inverse P-Cygni profile in the HeI and Br$\gamma$ lines, along with the tentative detection of a slightly larger size of the blue-shifted Br$\gamma$ line component, hint at the simultaneous presence of a wind and magnetospheric accretion in S CrA N., Comment: Accepted by A&A

The magnetic field of CPD -57 3509 was recently detected in the framework of the BOB (B fields in OB stars) collaboration. We acquired low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of CPD -57 3509 with FORS2 and high-resolution UVES observations randomly distributed over a few months to search for periodicity, to study the magnetic field geometry, and to determine the surface distribution of silicon and helium. We also obtained supplementary photometric observations at a timeline similar to the spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric observations. A period of 6.36d was detected in the measurements of the mean longitudinal magnetic field. A sinusoidal fit to our measurements allowed us to constrain the magnetic field geometry and estimate the dipole strength in the range of 3.9-4.5kG. Our application of the Doppler imaging technique revealed the presence of He I spots located around the magnetic poles, with a strong concentration at the positive pole and a weaker one around the negative pole. In contrast, high concentration Si III spots are located close to the magnetic equator. Further, our analysis of the spectral variability of CPD -57 3509 on short time scales indicates distinct changes in shape and position of line profiles possibly caused by the presence of beta Cep-like pulsations. A small periodic variability in line with the changes of the magnetic field strength is clearly seen in the photometric data., Comment: 11 pages, 5 tables, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Although pulsations of $\delta$ Scuti type are not expected among Ap stars from a theoretical point of view, previous observations of the known $\delta$ Scuti star HD21190 indicated a spectral classification F2 III SrEuSi:, making it the most evolved Ap star known. Our atmospheric chemical analysis based on recent HARPS observations confirms the presence of chemical peculiarities in HD21190. This star is also the only target known to host a magnetic field along with its $\delta$ Scuti pulsation properties. Using an astrometric analysis, we show that HD21190 forms a physical binary system with the companion CPD -83$^{\circ}$ 64B. The presented astrometric and spectroscopic study of the binary components is important to understand the complex interplay between stellar pulsations, magnetic fields, and chemical composition., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables

We present the first optical observation at sub-milliarcsecond (mas) scale of the microquasar SS 433 obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on the VLT interferometer. The 3.5 hour exposure reveals a rich K-band spectrum dominated by hydrogen Br$\gamma\ $ and \ion{He}{i} lines, as well as (red-shifted) emission lines coming from the jets. The K-band continuum emitting region is dominated by a marginally resolved point source ($<$ 1 mas) embedded inside a diffuse background accounting for 10\% of the total flux. The jet line positions agree well with the ones expected from the jet kinematic model, an interpretation also supported by the consistent sign (i.e. negative/positive for the receding/approaching jet component) of the phase shifts observed in the lines. The significant visibility drop across the jet lines, together with the small and nearly identical phases for all baselines, point toward a jet that is offset by less than 0.5 mas from the continuum source and resolved in the direction of propagation, with a typical size of 2 mas. The jet position angle of $\sim$80$^{\circ}$ is consistent with the expected one at the observation date. Jet emission so close to the central binary system would suggest that line locking, if relevant to explain the amplitude and stability of the 0.26c jet velocity, operates on elements heavier than hydrogen. The Br$\gamma\ $ profile is broad and double peaked. It is better resolved than the continuum and the change of the phase signal sign across the line on all baselines suggests an East-West oriented geometry alike the jet direction and supporting a (polar) disk wind origin., Comment: Submitted for publication in A&A Letters, 4 pages + appendix, 4 figures. Comments welcome

We observe the HMXB BP Cru using interferometry in the near-infrared K band with VLTI/GRAVITY. Continuum visibilities are at most partially resolved, consistent with the predicted size of the hypergiant. Differential visibility amplitude ($\Delta |V| \sim 5\%$) and phase ($\Delta \phi \sim 2 \deg$) signatures are observed across the HeI $2.059 \mu$m and Br$\gamma$ lines, the latter seen strongly in emission, unusual for the donor star's spectral type. For a baseline $B \sim 100$m, the differential phase RMS $\sim 0.2 \deg$ corresponds to an astrometric precision of $\sim 2 \mu$as. A model-independent analysis in the marginally resolved limit of interferometry reveals asymmetric and extended emission with a strong wavelength dependence. We propose geometric models based on an extended and distorted wind and/or a high density gas stream, which has long been predicted to be present in this system. The observations show that optical interferometry is now able to resolve HMXBs at the spatial scale at which accretion takes place, and therefore probe the effects of the gravitational and radiation fields of the compact object on its environment., Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 22 pages, 17 figures

GRAVITY is a new instrument to coherently combine the light of the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer to form a telescope with an equivalent 130 m diameter angular resolution and a collecting area of 200 m$^2$. The instrument comprises fiber fed integrated optics beam combination, high resolution spectroscopy, built-in beam analysis and control, near-infrared wavefront sensing, phase-tracking, dual beam operation and laser metrology [...]. This article gives an overview of GRAVITY and reports on the performance and the first astronomical observations during commissioning in 2015/16. We demonstrate phase tracking on stars as faint as m$_K$ ~ 10 mag, phase-referenced interferometry of objects fainter than m$_K$ ~ 15 mag with a limiting magnitude of m$_K$ ~ 17 mag, minute long coherent integrations, a visibility accuracy of better than 0.25 %, and spectro-differential phase and closure phase accuracy better than 0.5{\deg}, corresponding to a differential astrometric precision of better than 10 microarcseconds ({\mu}as). The dual-beam astrometry, measuring the phase difference of two objects with laser metrology, is still under commissioning. First observations show residuals as low as 50 {\mu}as when following objects over several months. We illustrate the instrument performance with the observations of archetypical objects for the different instrument modes. Examples include the Galactic Center supermassive black hole and its fast orbiting star S2 for phase referenced dual beam observations and infrared wavefront sensing, the High Mass X-Ray Binary BP Cru and the Active Galactic Nucleus of PDS 456 for few {\mu}as spectro-differential astrometry, the T Tauri star S CrA for a spectro-differential visibility analysis, {\xi} Tel and 24 Cap for high accuracy visibility observations, and {\eta} Car for interferometric imaging with GRAVITY., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 23 pages, 23 figures, corresponding author: F. Eisenhauer

Context. Mercury-manganese (HgMn) stars are a class of slowly rotating chemically peculiar main-sequence late B-type stars. More than two-thirds of the HgMn stars are known to belong to spectroscopic binaries. Aims. By determining orbital solutions for binary HgMn stars, we will be able to obtain the masses for both components and the distance to the system. Consequently, we can establish the position of both components in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and confront the chemical peculiarities of the HgMn stars with their age and evolutionary history. Methods. We initiated a program to identify interferometric binaries in a sample of HgMn stars, using the PIONIER near-infrared interferometer at the VLTI on Cerro Paranal, Chile. For the detected systems, we intend to obtain full orbital solutions in conjunction with spectroscopic data. Results. The data obtained for the SB2 system 41 Eridani allowed the determination of the orbital elements with a period of just five days and a semi-major axis of under 2 mas. Including published radial velocity measurements, we derived almost identical masses of 3.17 +/- 0.07 M_Sun for the primary and 3.07 +/- 0.07 M_Sun for the secondary. The measured magnitude difference is less than 0.1 mag. The orbital parallax is 18.05 +/- 0.17 mas, which is in good agreement with the Hipparcos trigonometric parallax of 18.33 +/- 0.15 mas. The stellar diameters are resolved as well at 0.39 +/- 0.03 mas. The spin rate is synchronized with the orbital rate., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures