Description
Mid-infrared (N-band) interferometric data of W Hya were obtained with MIDI/VLTI between April 2007 and September 2009, covering nearly three pulsation cycles. The spectrally dispersed visibility data of all 75 observations were analyzed by fitting a circular fully limb-darkened disk (FDD) model to all data and individual pulsation phases. Asymmetries were studied with an elliptical FDD. Modeling results in an apparent angular FDD diameter of W Hya of about (80+/-1.2)mas (7.8AU) between 8 and 10 micron, which corresponds to an about 1.9 times larger diameter than the photospheric one. The diameter gradually increases up to (105+/-1.2)mas (10.3AU) at 12 micron. In contrast, the FDD relative flux fraction decreases from (0.85+/-0.02) to (0.77+/-0.02), reflecting the increased flux contribution from a fully resolved surrounding silicate dust shell. The asymmetric character of the extended structure could be confirmed. An elliptical FDD yields a position angle of (11+/-20)deg and an axis ratio of (0.87+/-0.07). A weak pulsation dependency is revealed with a diameter increase of (5.4+/-1.8)mas between visual minimum and maximum, while detected cycle-to-cycle variations are smaller.
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