Search for molecular emission from V838 Monocerotis

¹ Astrophysics Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK
² Joint Astronomy Centre, 660 N. A`ohōkū Place, University Park, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
<sup>3</sup> European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile
<sup>4</sup> Gemini Observatory, 670 N. A`ohōkū Place, University Park, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
⁵ Centre for Astrophysics, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, UK

Corresponding author: M. T. Rushton, mtr@astro.keele.ac.uk

Received: 21 February 2003
Accepted: 18 September 2003

Abstract

We present a search for ¹²CO and SiO emission in V838 Mon. We derive upper limits on the ¹²CO and SiO emission, and on the total mass of the circumstellar material. Using an excitation temperature of 1000 K, and a likely distance of 6 kpc, the non-detection of ¹²CO emission leads to a 3σ upper limit on the mass of gas around the central star to be 10^-2 .