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We present the results of our long-term UBV JHKLM photometry and spectroscopic monitoring of the symbiotic nova V1016 Cyg. After its outburst in 1964, the star showed fading in the U, B, V bands at a rate of about 0.03 mag per year. The behavior of the B − V and U − B color indices reflects variations of the emission lines, fading of the erupted component, weakening and reddening of the cool giant. Also, monotonic color and brightness variations in the infrared (IR) were observed at a scale of several thousand days. After 2004, the yearly mean IR brightness showed a decline and IR colors, reddening, due to the increase of the optical depth of the dust. The parameters of the cool star and of the dust envelope were estimated. The pulsation period of the Mira-type variable was refined, P = 465±5 days. The Mira’s photospheric temperature varied from 2100 to 2700 K in the pulsation cycle. The mass of the dust shell has grown twice during the recent decade, at a dust penetration rate of ∆Mdust ~ 10−7M⊙/yr. Our spectroscopic monitoring of V1016 Cyg over 1995−2013 showed variations in the emission line strengths. The absolute fluxes of most lines decreased after 2000, whereas the relative intensities of [O III], [Ar III], [Fe VII], [Ca VII] lines with respect to Hβ are increasing after the possible minimum that could happen in the 1990s. An essential flux decline (approximately ten-fold between 1995 and 2013) in the Raman scattered O VI line at λ6825 shows the change of conditions in its formation zone, due to absorption of O VI 1032 Å quanta in the new dust shell of the cool component.

We present UBVJHKLM photometric observations of Nova Delphini 2013 that started several hours before maximum light and lasted for 130 nights. Using the obtained data, we derived several photometric parameters of the Nova: the time of maximum light, brightness at maximum, rate of decline, t2 = 11 d. This places Nova Del 2013 among fast novae according to the classification introduced by Payne-Gaposchkin. We estimated the interstellar reddening EB−V = 0.18 using maps of Galactic extinction and the absolute brightness in maximum light via the MMRD relation that allowed us to determine the distance D ≈ 2.7 kpc and height above the Galactic plane z ≈ 440 pc. Low-resolution spectroscopy shows that Nova Del 2013 belongs to the Fe II spectral type of novae. The broad emission feature near 6825 Å observed during 2013 August and September may be the Raman-scattered OVI 1032 Å line.

We present JHKLM photometry obtained in 1984–2009 for the RCB stars UV Cas and SU Tau. No major fadings characteristic of RCB stars were detected during the observations of UV Cas, while two events of this kind occurred for SU Tau. The observed flux and color-index variations can be explained with a changing dust concentration in the line of sight, and possibly variations of the stellar temperature. We use the measured fluxes, supplemented with observations in the intermediate IR, to compute spherically symmetric dust-shell models for the stars. The mass-loss rate is estimated to be 1.7 × 10−6 M⊙ yr−1 for UV Cas and 4.1 × 10−6 M⊙ yr−1 for SU Tau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of JHKLM photometry of the symbiotic star CH Cyg are presented. These demonstrate that, in Autumn 2006, the state of maximum near-IR brightness observed in 2003–2006 was replaced by a sharp brightness decline in all wavebands. One possible explanation is a sharp increase in the density of circumstellar dust envelope. The JHKLM photometry data together with ISO far-IR flux measurements are used to calculate spherically symmetric dust-envelope models for the maximum and minimum brightness states. The optical depth, expansion rate, and mass-loss rate of the envelope are calculated for both states, as well as an upper limit for the mass of the central source. Comparison with earlier models suggests that the rate of growth of the envelope optical depth and the mass-loss rate by the star are accelerating with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of analysis of JHKLM photometry of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 are presented. These observations confirmed its infrared (IR) variability. The magnitudes of the amplitudes of the brightness variations in the J (1.25 μm) and K (2.2 μm) bands are within 0.15 and 0.3, respectively. The nucleus of NGC 1068 is a variable source and can be at different phases of activity. The variable source in NGC 1068 is a complex-structured object. At least two sources radiate in the wavelength range 1.25–5 μm: a hot source whose radiation shows up in the range 1.25–1.65 μm and a cold source radiating at long wavelengths (2.2–5 μm). The total mean luminosity of the two sources did not change between the beginning and the end of our observations. The IR brightness and colour variations observed in 1998–2006 are attributable to the dispersal of the dust envelope that formed around the galactic nucleus some 30 years ago and reached its maximum density in 1994–1995. The optical depth of the dust envelope averaged over the spectrum of the hot source is τ ≈ 1.5. In 2004, the state of the dust envelope almost returned to its 1974 level, i.e. the dust envelope formation and dispersal cycle was about 11 000 days (approximately 30 years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our analysis of JHKLM photometric data obtained in 1978–2003 for the CH Cyg system shows that the “local” dust envelope that formed in the system in 1986 and reached its highest column density in 1996 had largely dispersed by mid-2001, so that the observed brightness of the system’s red giant has returned to its pre-1985 level. The giant’s spectral type varied in the range M6.5–M7.5 in 2001–2003. The optical depth of the dust envelope at 1.25 μm was τ(J) ≈ 0.83 near JD 2450090. The increase in the dust envelope’s optical depth was approximately a factor of 2.3 slower than the decrease. The envelope of CH Cyg can be pictured as a “stationary” dust cloud with an optical depth at λ = 1.25 μm of ∼0.4 and a dust-grain temperature of ∼750–800 K. There was probably an injection of matter into this cloud toward the end of 1985, initiating the condensation of dust grains. The optical depth began to increase and, by 1991, the dust envelope was transformed from a cloud into a local, almost spherically-symmetric envelope with a grain temperature of 750–800 K. Its optical depth reached its maximum in 1996, after which the local envelope began to disperse, becoming a cloud again by 2001. The detected 4000-day variability of the JHK brightness of CH Cyg is in good agreement with a model with an eclipsing binary consisting of two cool giants with effective temperatures differing by approximately 100 K, a luminosity ratio of L(M7)/L(M6) ∼ 6.8, and a radius ratio of R(M7)/R(M6) ∼ 3.6. The orbital ephemeris is given by JD (Min I) = 2444180 + 4000E.© 2004 MAIK “Nauka / Interperiodica”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical arid infrared photometric observations of the classical symbiotic binary Z Arid obtained in quiescent arid active phases in 1999–2002 are analyzed. RI photometric data from the literature are used to estimate the parameters of the binary system's components. The data as a whole suggest that the hot compact component expands arid the emission measure of the surrounding nebula grows during the flare. Possible interpretations of the flare based on several mechanisms are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss our JHKLM photometry for nine carbon Mira stars, eighteen carbon semiregular variables, and two oxygen Mira stars. For fourteen carbon stars, we present and analyze their infrared light and color curves. For all of the observed objects, we have estimated the optical depths of the circumstellar dust envelopes, the angular diameters of the stars, and their temperatures. © 2004 MAIK “Nauka / Interperiodica”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]