| Description |
IRC+10216 is a Mira variable star with a long period of 649 days and an amplitude in K of 0.5mag (Le Bertre 1982). Very recently, the first complete study with high spectral resolution of thesubmillimeter and farIR spectrum of this object has been carried out with HIFI (Cernicharo et al.,2010). In addition to the line survey of IRC+10216 a second program aiming at searching for lighthydrides in this object was submitted and granted as GT1. The data of the line survey and those ofthe GT1 proposal were taken with 6 months of difference. We have been really surprised by thecomparison of both set of data. Figure 1 shows some selected frequencies for which data isavailable from both proposals, while Figure 2 shows all CO, CS, and SiO lines that have beenobserved in both periods. Some lines show a quite remarkable variation in the intensity, in somecases by more than a factor of 2. The results are so surprising that we have checked all possibleinstrumental effects before giving credit to the new and unexpected physical processes involved intheemergentlineprofiles. |
