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Description
We present visible polarimetric imaging observations of the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tau obtained with SPHERE-ZIMPOL (phase 0.27) as well as interferometric observations with AMBER. The polarimetric imaging capabilities of SPHERE-ZIMPOL have allowed us to spatially resolve clumpy dust clouds at 20-50mas from the central star, which corresponds to 2-5R* when combined with a central star's angular diameter of 20.7+/-1.53 mas measured with AMBER. The diffuse, asymmetric dust emission extends out to ~73R*. We find that the TiO emission extends to 150 mas (15R*). The AMBER data in the CO lines also suggest a molecular outer atmosphere extending to ~1.5R*. The results of our 2-D Monte Carlo radiative transfer modelling of dust clumps suggest that the polarized intensity and degree of linear polarization can be reasonably explained by small-sized (0.1{mu}m) grains of Al_2_O_3, MgSiO_3, or Mg_2_SiO_4 in an optically thin shell ({tau}_550 nm=0.5+/-0.1) with an inner boundary radius of 3.5*. IK Tau's mass-loss rate is 20 to 50 times higher than the previously studied AGB stars W Hya, R Dor, and o Cet. Nevertheless, our observations of IK Tau revealed that clumpy dust formation occurs close to the star as seen in those low mass-rate AGB stars.
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