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Context. The Bp star HD 94660 is a single-lined spectroscopic binary. Some authors have suggested that the unseen companion of at least 2 M⊙ may be a compact object. Aims. We intend to study this multiple system in detail, especially to learn more about the thus far unseen companion. Methods. We have collected and analyzed PIONIER (Precision Integrated-Optics Near-infrared Imaging ExpeRiment) H-band data from the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) visible photometric data, and X-ray observations with Chandra of HD 94660. Results. Using PIONIER, we were able to detect the companion to HD 94660, which is absent from high quality spectra at visible wavelengths, with a magnitude difference of 1.8 in the H band at a separation of 18.72 mas. The TESS light curve shows variations with a period of 2.1 d and also flaring. The Chandra spectrum is well described by emission from hot thermal plasma, yet it might include a nonthermal component. The X-ray properties are compatible with a magnetically active companion, while it is also possible that there might be some magnetospheric contributions from the primary. Conclusions. We can rule out that the companion to HD 94660 is a compact source. It is also very unlikely that this companion is a single star, as the estimated mass of more than 2 M⊙, the magnitude difference of 1.8 in the H band, and its nondetection in visible spectra are difficult to realize in a single object. One alternative could be a pair of late F stars, which would also be responsible for the detected photometric variations. Interferometric observations over the full binary orbit are necessary to determine the real mass of the companion and to add constraints on the overall geometry of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Mercury-manganese (HgMn) stars are a class of slowly rotating chemically peculiar main-sequence late B-type stars. More than two-thirds of the HgMn stars are known to belong to spectroscopic binaries. Aims. By determining orbital solutions for binary HgMn stars, we will be able to obtain the masses for both components and the distance to the system. Consequently, we can establish the position of both components in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and confront the chemical peculiarities of the HgMn stars with their age and evolutionary history. Methods. We initiated a program to identify interferometric binaries in a sample of HgMn stars, using the PIONIER near-infrared interferometer at the VLTI on Cerro Paranal, Chile. For the detected systems, we intend to obtain full orbital solutions in conjunction with spectroscopic data. Results. The data obtained for the SB2 system 41 Eridani allowed the determination of the orbital elements with a period of just five days and a semi-major axis of under 2 mas. Including published radial velocity measurements, we derived almost identical masses of 3.17 ± 0.07 M⊙ for the primary and 3.07 ± 0.07 M⊙ for the secondary. The measured magnitude difference is less than 0.1 mag. The orbital parallax is 18.05 ± 0.17 mas, which is in good agreement with the Hipparcos trigonometric parallax of 18.33 ± 0.15 mas. The stellar diameters are resolved as well at 0.39 ± 0.03 mas. The spin rate is synchronized with the orbital rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. There exists an enigmatic population of massive stars around the Galactic center (GC) that were formed some Myr ago. A fraction of these stars has been found to orbit the supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, in a projected clockwise disk-like structure, which suggests that they were formed in a formerly existing dense disk around Sgr A*. Aims. We focus on a subgroup of objects, the extended, near-infrared (NIR) bright sources IRS1W, IRS 5, IRS 10W, and IRS 21, that have been suggested to be young, massive stars that form bow shocks through their interaction with the interstellar medium (ISM). Their nature has impeded accurate determinations of their orbital parameters. We aim at establishing their nature and kinematics to test whether they form part of the clockwise disk. Methods. We performed NIR multiwavelength imaging with NACO/VLT using direct adaptive optics (AO) and AO-assisted sparse aperture masking (SAM). We introduce a new method for self-calibration of the SAM point spread function in dense stellar fields. The emission mechanism, morphology, and kinematics of the targets were examined via 3D models, combined with existing models of the gas flow in the central parsec. Results.We confirm previous findings that IRS 21, IRS1W, and IRS 5 are bow-shocks created by the interaction between mass-losing stars and the interstellar gas. The nature of IRS 10W remains unclear. Our modeling shows that the bow-shock emission is caused by thermal emission, while the scattering of stellar light does not play a significant role. IRS1W shows a morphology that is consistent with a bow shock produced by an anisotropic stellar wind or by locally inhomogeneous ISM density. Our best-fit models provide estimates of the local proper motion of the ISM in the Northern Arm that agree with previously published models that were based on radio interferometry and NIR spectroscopy. Assuming that all of the sources are gravitationally tied to Sagittarius A*, their orbital planes were obtained via a Monte Carlo simulation. Conclusions. Our sources appear to be Wolf-Rayet stars associated to the last starburst at the GC. Our orbital analysis suggests that they are not part of any of the previously suggested coherent stellar structures, in particular the clockwise disk. We thus add more evidence to recent findings that a large proportion of the massive stars show apparently random orbital orientations, suggesting either that not all of them were formed in the clockwise disk, or that their orbits were randomized rapidly after formation in the disk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Binary post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are interesting laboratories to study both the evolution of binaries as well as the structure of circumstellar disks. Aims. A multiwavelength high angular resolution study of the prototypical object 89 Herculis is performed with the aim of identifying and locating the different emission components seen in the spectral energy distribution. Methods. A large interferometric data set, collected over the past decade and covering optical and near-infrared wavelengths, is analyzed in combination with the spectral energy distribution and flux-calibrated optical spectra. In this first paper only simple geometric models are applied to fit the interferometric data. Combining the interferometric constraints with the photometry and the optical spectra, we re-assess the energy budget of the post-AGB star and its circumstellar environment. Results. We report the first (direct) detection of a large (35-40%) optical circumstellar flux contribution and spatially resolve its emission region. Given this large amount of reprocessed and/or redistributed optical light, the fitted size of the emission region is rather compact and fits with(in) the inner rim of the circumbinary dust disk. This rim dominates our K band data through thermal emission and is rather compact, emitting significantly already at a radius of twice the orbital separation. We interpret the circumstellar optical flux as due to a scattering process, with the scatterers located in the extremely puffed-up inner rim of the disk and possibly also in a bipolar outflow seen pole-on. A non-local thermodynamic equilibrium gaseous origin in an inner disk cannot be excluded but is considered highly unlikely. Conclusions. This direct detection of a significant amount of circumbinary light at optical wavelengths poses several significant questions regarding our understanding of both post-AGB binaries and the physics in their circumbinary disks. Although the identification of the source of emission/scattering remains inconclusive without further study on this and similar objects, the implications are manifold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on ALMA observations of continuum and molecular line emission with 0."4 resolution towards the high-mass star-forming region G35.20-0.74 N. Two dense cores are detected in typical hot-core tracers (e.g., CH3CN) that reveal velocity gradients. In one of these cores, the velocity field can be fitted with an almost edge-on Keplerian disk rotating about a central mass of ~18 M⊙. This finding is consistent with the results of a recent study of the CO first overtone bandhead emission at 2.3 μm towards G35.20-0.74 N. The disk radius and mass are ≳2500 au and ~3 M⊙. To reconcile the observed bolometric luminosity (~3 × 104 L⊙) with the estimated stellar mass of 18 M⊙, we propose that the latter is the total mass of a binary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on ALMA observations of continuum and molecular line emission with 0". 4 resolution towards the high-mass star-forming region G35.20-0.74 N. Two dense cores are detected in typical hot-core tracers (e.g., CH3CN) that reveal velocity gradients. In one of these cores, the velocity field can be fitted with an almost edge-on Keplerian disk rotating about a central mass of ~18 M☉. This finding is consistent with the results of a recent study of the CO first overtone bandhead emission at 2.3 μm towards G35.20-0.74 N. The disk radius and mass are ≳2500 au and ~3 M☉. To reconcile the observed bolometric luminosity (~3×104 L☉) with the estimated stellar mass of 18 M☉, we propose that the latter is the total mass of a binary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]