A Morphological Diagnostic for Dynamical Evolution of Wolf-Rayet Bubbles
Astrophysics
2009-10-31 v1
Abstract
We have observed H-alpha and [OIII] emission from eight of the most well defined Wolf-Rayet ring nebulae in the Galaxy. We find that in many cases the outermost edge of the [OIII] emission leads the H-alpha emission. We suggest that these offsets, when present, are due to the shock from the Wolf-Rayet bubble expanding into the circumstellar envelope. Thus, the details of the WR bubble morphology at H-alpha and [OIII] can then be used to better understand the physical condition and evolutionary stage of the nebulae around Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as place constraints on the nature of the stellar progenitor and its mass loss history.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0007385,
title = {A Morphological Diagnostic for Dynamical Evolution of Wolf-Rayet Bubbles},
author = {Robert A. Gruendl and You-Hua Chu and Bryan C. Dunne and Sean D. Points},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0007385},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
11 pages, LaTex, 8 figures, accepted for publication in AJ, November 2000