Eta Carinae: The 2003.5 Observing Campaign: Papers, Presentations

In 2003.5 Eta Carinae, one of the most luminous, massive stars in the Universe, is expected to undergo an X-ray eclipse. This X-ray eclipse is believed to occur every 5.52 years, is apparently correlated with the 5.52 year fading of high excitation lines (like He II 10830 Å published by Augusto Damineli). The X-ray emission is thought to arise at a shock front produced as the wind from Eta Car slams into the wind from a less massive (but hotter) companion star. The eclipse may be produced as the shock front around the companion moves behind the thick wind of Eta Car. The upcoming eclipse marks only the 3rd time the X-ray eclipse has been seen (the first time was a fortuitous observation with ROSAT),, we hope will mark the first time the event is observed by the full complement of ground-based , space based instrumentation. This page summarizes some of the planned observations,, results as they become available.

Refereed Papers From the 2003.5 Campaign

1. Eta Carinae across the 2003.5 Minimum: Deciphering the Spectrum toward Weigelt D, Nielsen, K. E., Ivarsson, S. & Gull, T. R., 2007, ApJS, 168, 289
2. X-ray Spectral Variation of Eta Carinae through the 2003 X-ray Minimum, Hamaguchi, Kenji, Corcoran, Michael F., Gull, Theodore, Ishibashi, Kazunori, Pittard, Julian M., Hillier, D. John, Damineli, Augusto, Davidson, Kris, Nielsen, Krister E., Vieira Kober, Gladys, 2007, ApJ, in press
3. Eta Carinae across the 2003.5 minimum: Spectroscopic Evidence for Massive Binary Interactions, Nielsen, K. E., Corcoran, M. F., Gull, T. R., Hillier, D. J., Hamaguchi, K., Ivarsson, S., Lindler, D. J., 2007, ApJ, in press
4. The UV Scattering Halo of the Central Source Associated with η Carinae, Hillier, D. J., Gull, T., Nielsen, K., Sonneborn, G., Iping, R., Smith, N., Corcoran, M., Damineli, A., Hamann, F. W., Martin, J. C.,, Weis, K. 2006, ApJ, 642, 1098
5. On the He II Emission in η Carinae, the Origin of Its Spectroscopic Events, Martin, J.C., Davidson, K., Humphreys, R.M., Hillier, D.J., Ishibashi, K., 2006, ApJ, 640, 474
6. Eta Carinae across the 2003.5 Minimum: The Character, Variability of the Ejecta Absorption in the Near-Ultraviolet, Gull, T. R., Kober, G. V.,, Nielsen, K. E., 2006, ApJS, 163, 173
7. Variable Unidentified Emission near 6307 Angstrom in η Carinae, Martin, J. C., Davidson, K., Hamann, F., Stahl, O., Weis, K., 2006, PASP, 118, 697
8. An overview of the photometric events, trends and brightenings of eta Carinae, van Genderen, A. M., Sterken, C., Allen, W. H., Walker, W. S. G., 2006, JAD, 12, 3
9. BVRI photometric monitoring of η Carinae, Fernandez Lajus, E., Schwartz, M., Torres, A., Salerno, N., Farina, C., Llinares, C., Simontacchi, L., Gamen, R. C., Niemela, V. S., 2006, RMxAC, 26, 170
10. A spectroscopic event of η Car viewed from different directions: The data, first results, Stahl, O., Weis, K., Bomans, D. J., Davidson, K., Gull, T. R., Humphreys, R. M., 2005, A&A 435, 303
11. Detection of a Hot Binary Companion of η Carinae, Iping, R. C., Sonneborn, G., Gull, T. R., Massa, D. L.,, Hillier, D. J., 2005, ApJ, 633, L37
12. "X-Ray Monitoring of Eta Carinae: Variations on a Theme", M. F. Corcoran, 2005, AJ, 129, 2018 (electronic version of Table 2, RXTE PCU lightcurve, 1996-2004)
13. Wind-wind collision in the η Carinae binary system - II. Constraints to the binary orbital parameters from radio emission near periastron passage, Abraham, Z., Falceta-Goncalves, D., Dominici, T., Caproni, A., Jatenco-Pereira, V., 2005, MNRAS, 364, 922
14. Wind-wind collision in the Eta Carinae binary system: a shell-like event near periastron", Falceta-Goncalves, D., Jatenco-Pereira, V., Abraham, Z., 2005, MNRAS, 357, 895.
15. A Change in the Physical State of η Carinae?, Davidson, K., Martin, J., Humphreys, R. M., Ishibashi, K., Gull, T. R., Stahl, O., Weis, K., Hillier, D. J., Damineli, A., Corcoran, M., Hamann, F., 2005, AJ, 129, 900
16. "The Ultraviolet Spectrum of Eta Carinae: Investigation of the Ejecta Absorption", Nielsen, K. E., Gull, T. R., Vieira Kober, G., 2005, ApJS, 157, 138.
17. "VLT UVES Observations of the Balmer Line Variations of Eta Carinae during the 2003 Spectroscopic Event", Weis, K., Stahl, O., Bomans, D. J., Davidson, K., Gull, T. R.,, Humphreys, R. M., 2005, AJ, 129, 1694.
18. Millimeter-wave emission during the 2003 low excitation phase of η Carinae, Abraham, Z., Falceta-Gon¨alves, D., Dominici, T.~P., Nyman, L.-A., Durouchoux, P., McAuliffe, F., Caproni, A., Jatenco-Pereira, V., 2005, A&A, 437, 977
19. "The 2003.5 Post-Periastron Brightening of η Carinae", Allen, W. H., van Genderen, A. M.,, Sterken, C., 2005, Informational Bulletin on Variable Stars, 5601, 1.
20. "The Absorption Spectrum of High-Density Stellar Ejecta in the Line of Sight to Eta Carinae", Gull, T. R., Vieira, G., Bruhweiler, F., Nielsen, K. E., Verner, E.,, Danks, A., 2005, ApJ, 620, 442.
21. "Detection of He II λ4686 in η Carinae", Steiner, Damineli, 2004, The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 612, Issue 2, pp. L133-L136., 612, L133
22. The 2003 shell event in η Carinae, Whitelock, Feast, Marang,, Breedt, 2004, MNRAS, 352, 447
23. The Purple Haze of η Carinae: Binary-induced Variability?, Smith, Morse, Collins,, Gull, 2004, ApJ, 610, L105
24. "Identification of emission lines in the low-ionization strontium filament near Eta Carinae", Hartman, Gull, Johansson, Smith,, HST Eta Carinae Treasury Project Team, 2004, A& 419, 215
25. "Kinematics, Ultraviolet to Infrared Morphology of the Inner Homunculus of η Carinae", Smith, Morse, Gull, Hillier, Gehrz, Walborn, Bautista, Collins, Corcoran, Damineli, Hamann, Hartman, Johansson, Stahl,, Weis, 2004, The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 605, Issue 1, pp. 405-424., 605, 405
26. "η Carinae's Brightness Variations Since 1998: Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Central Star", Martin, Koppelman, 2004, The Astronomical Journal, Volume 127, Issue 4, pp. 2352-2361., 127, 2352
27. "eta Car recovering from the 2003.5 spectroscopic event", Groh, Damineli, 2004, Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 5492, 1., 5492, 1
28. "eta Car: the optical features at the 2003.5 low-excitation event", van Genderen, Sterken, Allen,, Liller, 2003, Astronomy, Astrophysics, v.412, p.L25-L28 (2003), 412, L25
29. "Optical CCD Observations of Eta Carinae at La Plata Observatory", Fernández Lajús, E., Gamen, R., Schwartz, M., Salerno, N., Llinares, C., Fariña, C., Amorín, R., Niemela, V., 2003, IBVS, 5477

IAU Circulars

1. "eta Carinae", Abraham, Dominici, Damineli, Leister,, Levenhagen, 2003, IAU Circ., 8162, 4 (2003). Edited by Green, D. W. E., 8162, 4
2. "eta Carinae", Corcoran, 2003, IAU Circ., 8160, 3 (2003). Edited by Green, D. W. E., 8160, 3
3. "eta Carinae", Whitelock, Marang,, Crause, 2003, IAU Circ., 8160, 2 (2003). Edited by Green, D. W. E., 8160, 2
4. "eta Carinae", Corcoran, 2003, IAU Circ., 8154, 2 (2003). Edited by Green, D. W. E., 8154, 2
5. "eta Carinae", Corcoran, 2003, IAU Circ., 8146, 1 (2003). Edited by Green, D. W. E., 8146, 1
6. "eta Carinae", Levenhagen, Damineli, Leister,, Abraham, 2003, IAU Circ., 8100, 2 (2003). Edited by Green, D. W. E., 8100, 2

Popular Articles

1. Eta Carinae: Galactic Superstar, Robert Naeye, Sky & Telescope, 108, 42
2. Eta Carinae's Year of Glory, Roth, 2003, Sky & Telescope, 106, part no 1, 30-35 (2003), 106, 30

Theses

1. "High Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of Colliding Wind Binaries", D. B. Henley, University of Birmingham, February 2005

Meetings & Presentations

1. "The Fate of the Most Massive Stars", Jackson Hole, Wyoming, May 23-28.
2. "X-ray Gyrations of Eta Carina during the 2003 X-ray Eclipse, or, Is Presence of Evidence Evidence of Presence?", presented by M. F. Corcoran at "Massive Stars in Interacting Binary Systems", Lake Sacacomie, Quebec, Canada, Aug. 16-20. (proceedings, pdf)
3. "XMM-Newton observations of the 2003 X-Ray minimum of η Carinae", presented by K. Hamaguchi at "Massive Stars in Interacting Binary Systems", Lake Sacacomie, Quebec, Canada, Aug. 16-20. (proceedings, pdf)
4. "Eta Carinae: its binarity as implied by STIS observations over the latest 5.54-year cycle", presented by T. Gull at "Massive Stars in Interacting Binary Systems", Lake Sacacomie, Quebec, Canada, Aug. 16-20.
5. "XMM-Newton Observations of the 2003 X-ray Minimum of Eta Carinae" K. Hamaguchi (NASA's GSFC & NRC), M. F. Corcoran (NASA's GSFC & USRA), N. E. White (NASA's GSFC), A. Damineli (IAGUSP), K. Davidson (U. Minnesota), T. R. Gull (NASA's GSFC), AAS 203, 58.01
6. "High Resolution Temporal, Spectral Monitoring of Eta Carinae's X-ray Emission Through the June Eclipse", M. F. Corcoran (USRA & NASA-GSFC/LHEA), K. Hamaguchi (NRC & NASA-GSFC/LHEA), D. Henley (University of Birmingham), J. M. Pittard (The University of Leeds), T. R. Gull (NASA-GSFC/LASP), K. Davidson (University of Minnesota), J. H. Swank, R. Petre (NASA-GSFC/LHEA), K. Ishibashi (MIT), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAS 203, 58.02
7. "Brightness Variations in the Central Star of Eta Carinae From 1998 to the Present", J.C. Martin, M. D. Koppelman (University of Minnesota), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAS 203, 58.03
8. "A Complex Two Dimensional Spectroscopic Database: The HST Treasury Archive for Eta Carinae" R. M. Humphreys, K. Davidson, M. Gray, M. D. Koppelman, A. Qian, J. C. Martin (Univ. Minn.), K. Ishibashi (MIT), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAS 203, 58.04
9. "The HST Treasury Project on Eta Carinae" K. Davidson (Univ. of Minnesota), K. Ishibashi (MIT), T.R. Gull (NASA/GSFC), J. C. Martin, R.M. Humphreys (Univ. of Minnesota), A. Damineli (Univ. S‹o Paulo), K. Weis, O. Stahl (L, essternwarte Heidelberg), D.J. Hillier (Univ. of Pittsburgh), M. Corcoran (NASA/GSFC), F. Hamann (Univ. of Florida), N. Walborn (STScI), S. Johansson, H. Hartman (Univ. of Lund), M. Bautista (IVIC), AAS 203, 58.05
10. "The UV Scattering Halo of the Central Source Associated with Eta Carinae" D. J. Hillier (University of Pittsburgh), K. Davidson (University of Minnesota), T. R. Gull (NASA's GSFC), R. M. Humphreys (University of Minnesota), R. Iping, G. Sonneborn (NASA's GSFC), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAS 203, 58.06
11. "Alternative orbital parameters for Eta Car's alleged companion star: ``panacea or placebo in a bottle?" K. Ishibashi (MIT/CSR), K. Davidson, R. M. Humphreys (University of Minnesota), N. Smith (University of Colorado), AAS 203, 58.07
12. Changes in the Far UV spectrum of Eta Carinae near the 2003 minimum. R.C. Iping (CUA &NASA's GSFC), T.R. Gull, G. Sonneborn (NASA's GSFC), D. Massa, G.L. Vieira (SGT Inc. & NASA's GSFC), K. E. Nielsen (CUA), AAS 203, 58.08
13. "UV nebular absorption in Eta Car, Weigelt D" K. E. Nielsen (CUA & NASA/GSFC), G. L. Vieira (SSAI & NASA/GSFC), T. R. Gull (NASA/GSFC), D. J Lindler (ACC & NASA/GSFC), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAS 203, 58.09
14. "Eta Carinae, the 2003.5 Minimum: Ultraviolet Changes of the Central Source, the Very Nearby Ejecta T.R. Gull (NASA/GSFC), K. E. Nielsen (CUA & NASA/GSFC), G. L. Vieira (SSAI & NASA/GSFC), D.J. Hillier (Univ of Pittsburgh), N. Walborn (STScI), K. Davidson (Univ of Minnesota), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAs 203, 58.10
15. "Determining cloud parameters with the Curve-of-Growth: Application Eta Car" G. L. Vieira (SSAI & NASA/GSFC), T. R. Gull (NASA/GSFC), F. Bruhweiler, K. E. Nielsen, E. M. Verner (CUA & NASA/GSFC), Eta Car HST Treasury Team, AAS 203, 58.11
16. "Unexpected Behavior of Hydrogen Emission Lines during Eta Carinae's Spectroscopic Event in 2003" K. Davidson, J. Martin (Univ. of Minnesota), Eta Car HST Treasury Project Team, AAS 204, 7.11
17. "The Purple Haze of Eta Carinae: Lately Things Don't Seem the Same" N. Smith (U. Colorado), J.A. Morse (Arizona State U.), N.R. Collins, T.R. Gull (NASA/GSFC), AAS 204, 7.12