The dusty aftermath of the V1309 Sco binary merger

Abstract

Abstract We present mid-IR photometry and spectra of the merged binary V1309 Sco taken between 18 and 23 months after outburst. Strong mid-IR emission and a solid-state absorption feature indicate the presence of a significant amount of dust in the circumstellar environment. The absence of detectable mid-IR emission before the outburst suggests that this dust was produced in the eruptive merger event. Model fits to the solid-state absorption feature constrain the constituent species and column density of the dust around V1309 Sco. We find that the absorption feature can be reproduced by large (3 μm) amorphous pyroxene grains at a temperature of 800 K. This grain size, if confirmed with longer wavelength spectroscopy and modelling, would be suggestive of dust processing in the circumstellar environment. The data in hand do not allow us to discriminate between disc or shell configurations for the dusty material.