Kunal Deshmukh

Kunal Deshmukh

Astronomer

Publications

You can also find my articles on my Google Scholar profile.

Journal Articles

The Tarantula massive binary monitoring VII. The nature of the eccentric O+BH binary candidate VFTS 812

Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2026

We present a massive O+BH binary candidate in the Tarantula nebula identified using VLT/FLAMES spectroscopic observations. We also discuss the challenges we face when searching for black hole companions to massive stars in the Tarantula nebula and the way forward to find more O+BH binaries.

Recommended citation: Deshmukh et al. (2026), A&A 706, L17
Download Paper

The highly magnetic Wolf-Rayet binary HD 45166 resolved with VLTI/GRAVITY

Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2025

We confirm the wide binary status of the highly magnetic quasi Wolf-Rayet star HD 45166. With a single snapshot observation with VLTI/GRAVITY, the two binary components are spatially resolved, allowing for preliminary dynamical mass measurements and motivating follow-up observations to determine the full 3D orbit.

Recommended citation: Deshmukh et al. (2025), A&A 695, L20
Download Paper

Investigating 39 Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars with VLTI/GRAVITY: Uncovering a long-period binary desert

Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2024

We present a VLTI/GRAVITY interferometric survey of Southern Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars in search of elusive wide companions predicted by evolutionary models. Despite probing a large and uncharted period range, we find the wide binaries to be largely missing. We also discuss serendipetous by-products of our GRAVITY survey, beyond our search for companions.

Recommended citation: Deshmukh et al. (2024), A&A 692, A109
Download Paper