Multiple shells in IRC+10216: shell properties

Abstract

We report on the properties of the multiple shells in the circumstellar envelope of IRC+10216, using deep optical imaging, including data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The intensity profiles confirm the presence of thin ( ~ 0farcs5 -3'' ec), limb-brightened shells in the envelope, seen in stellar and ambient Galactic light scattered by dust. The shells are spaced at irregular intervals of ~ 5'' ec-20'' ec, corresponding to time scales of 200-800 yr, although intervals as short as ~ 1'' ec (40 yr) are seen close to the star. The location of the main shells shows a good correlation with high-resolution, molecular line maps of the inner envelope, indicating that the dust and gas are well coupled. The shell/intershell density contrast is typically ~ 3, and we find that the shells form the dominant mass component of the circumstellar envelope. The shells exhibit important evolutionary effects: the thickness increases with increasing radius, with an effective dispersion velocity of 0.7 km s^-1 and there is evidence for shell interactions. Despite the presence of bipolar structure close to the star, the global shell pattern favors a roughly isotropic, episodic mass loss mechanism, with a range of time scales. Based on observations made with the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, operated by CNRS, NRCC and UH, and on dearchived observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, operated by AURA Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555