Related papers: BAT99 126: A multiple Wolf-Rayet system in the Lar…
In order to predict the black hole mass distributions at high redshift, we need to understand whether very massive single stars ($M>40$ M$_\odot$) at low metallicity $Z$ lose their hydrogen-rich envelopes, like their metal-rich…
The spin of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars at low metallicity (Z) is most relevant for our understanding of gravitational wave sources such as GW 150914, as well as the incidence of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Two scenarios have been…
WR 20a is the most massive close-in binary known in our Galaxy. It is composed of two $\approx$80 M$_\odot$ Wolf-Rayet stars with a short period of $\approx$3.7 days in the open cluster Westerlund 2. As such, WR 20a presents us with a…
Infrared photometry of the probable triple WC4(+O?)+O8I: Wolf-Rayet system HD 36402 (= BAT99-38) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) shows emission characteristic of heated dust. The dust emission is variable on a time-scale of years, with…
Context. A significant number of the Wolf-Rayet stars seem to be binary or multiple systems, but the nature of many of them is still unknown. Dedicated monitoring of WR stars favours the discovery of new systems. Aims. We explore the…
Surveys of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have yielded a fairly complete catalog of 154 known stars. We have conducted a comprehensive, multiwavelength study of the interstellar/circumstellar environments of WR…
Without doubt, mass transfer in close binary systems contributes to the populations of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. However, the binary formation channel is so far not well explored. We want to remedy…
Several long-period binaries with a carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet star and an O star produce dust in their wind collisions. In eccentric binaries, this is seen most strongly near periastron passage. The exact conditions leading to dust creation…
Wolf-Rayet stars represent one of the final stages of massive stellar evolution. Relatively little is known about this short-lived phase and we currently lack reliable mass, distance, and binarity determinations for a representative sample.…
Over the years, directed surveys and incidental spectroscopy have identified 12 Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the SMC and 139 in the LMC, numbers which are often described as "essentially} complete." Yet, new WRs are discovered in the LMC almost…
The spectrum of the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR 63 contains spectral lines of two different O stars that show regular radial velocity (RV) variations with amplitudes of ~160 and ~225 km/s on a ~4.03 d period. The light-curve shows two narrow…
We have compiled a list of 36 O+O and 89 Wolf-Rayet binary candidates in the Milky Way and Magellanic clouds detected with the Chandra, XMM-Newton and ROSAT satellites to probe the connection between their X-ray properties and their system…
Classical Wolf-Rayet stars are descendants of massive OB-type stars that have lost their hydrogen-rich envelopes, and are in the final stages of stellar evolution, possibly exploding as type Ib/c supernovae. It is understood that the…
Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) are one of the final evolutionary stages of massive stars and immediate progenitors of stellar-mass black holes. Their multiplicity forms an important anchor point in single and binary population models for predicting…
HD 45166 was recently reported to be a long-period binary comprising a B7V star and a highly magnetic ($\langle B \rangle = 43.0\pm0.5\,$kG) hot Wolf-Rayet-like component, dubbed as a quasi Wolf-Rayet (qWR) star in literature. While…
We combine new CCD UBV photometry and spectroscopy with that from the literature to investigate 19 Magellanic Cloud OB associations that contain Wolf-Rayet (WR) and other types of evolved massive stars. Our spectroscopy reveals a wealth of…
We present a comprehensive analysis of the photometric variability of (presumably single) nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet (WN) stars in the Magellanic Clouds, using long-term observations from the OGLE survey. Our sample comprises 47 stars with no…
NGC346-013 is a peculiar double-lined eclipsing binary in the Small Magellanic Cloud discovered by the VLT-FLAMES survey of massive stars. Spectra obtained with VLT-FLAMES are used to construct a radial velocity curve and photometry…
The numbers and types of evolved massive stars found in nearby galaxies provide an exacting test of stellar evolution models. Because of their proximity and rich massive star populations, the Magellanic Clouds have long served as the…
The galactic cluster Westerlund 1 contains a rich population of evolved, massive stars, and a high binary fraction has been inferred from previous multiwavelength observations. We use multi-epoch spectroscopy of a large sample of early-type…