CHARA Array Observations of the Evolved Components in Symbiotic Star Systems

@misc{gaudin2026chara,
  title = {{CHARA Array Observations of the Evolved Components in Symbiotic Star Systems}},
  author = {Thomas Martin Gaudin and Ryan Norris and Magdalena Otulakowska-Hypka and Rachael M. Roettenbacher and Nirupam Roy and Yesenia Beltran and Cameron Caruso and Cody Gustafson and Mason Earick and Andrew Kotowski and Rebecca Proni and Jacob Sandusky and Fabien Baron and Michelle J. Creech-Eakman and John D. Monnier and Stefan Kraus and Narsireddy Anugu and Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin and Sorabh Chhabra and Isabelle Codron and Calire Davies and Jacob Ennis and Tyler Gardner and Mayra Gutierrez and Noura Ibrahim and Cyprien Lanthermann and Benjamin R. Setterholm and Christopher D. Farrington and Olli Majoinen and Norm Vargas and Douglas R Gies and Theo ten Brummelaar and Gail H. Schaefer},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.27546},
  eprint = {2608.27546},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27546},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - CHARA Array Observations of the Evolved Components in Symbiotic Star Systems
AU  - Thomas Martin Gaudin
AU  - Ryan Norris
AU  - Magdalena Otulakowska-Hypka
AU  - Rachael M. Roettenbacher
AU  - Nirupam Roy
AU  - Yesenia Beltran
AU  - Cameron Caruso
AU  - Cody Gustafson
AU  - Mason Earick
AU  - Andrew Kotowski
AU  - Rebecca Proni
AU  - Jacob Sandusky
AU  - Fabien Baron
AU  - Michelle J. Creech-Eakman
AU  - John D. Monnier
AU  - Stefan Kraus
AU  - Narsireddy Anugu
AU  - Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin
AU  - Sorabh Chhabra
AU  - Isabelle Codron
AU  - Calire Davies
AU  - Jacob Ennis
AU  - Tyler Gardner
AU  - Mayra Gutierrez
AU  - Noura Ibrahim
AU  - Cyprien Lanthermann
AU  - Benjamin R. Setterholm
AU  - Christopher D. Farrington
AU  - Olli Majoinen
AU  - Norm Vargas
AU  - Douglas R Gies
AU  - Theo ten Brummelaar
AU  - Gail H. Schaefer
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/27
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.27546
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27546
AB  - The nature of the mechanisms that drive mass transfer in symbiotic stars remains an area of active research in stellar astronomy. Constraining the role that both stellar winds and Roche-lobe overflow play in this process is crucial to improving our understanding of these binaries and connecting them to important transient events such as recurrent novae and Type Ia supernovae. The high-resolution capabilities of an optical interferometer can resolve the geometric structure of the red giant in symbiotic stars and help answer this question. This work presents the results of an optical interferometric study using the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array for the purpose of measuring the angular diameter of and imaging the cool giant in four symbiotic and related systems. Here we report \textit{H} band observations collected with MIRC-X. Model fitting and image reconstruction are used to test for Roche-lobe-filling geometries. Near-simultaneous infrared spectroscopy taken using the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) is used to determine the fundamental stellar parameters of the cool giant in each system. The parametric fits reported here favor circularly symmetric disk models over elongated geometries, while imaging suggests the presence of surface features on three of these stars. We find that the three systems with constrained orbits have inferred time-averaged filling factors below unity.
ER  -