Related papers: The orbit and stellar masses of the archetype coll…

Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) are very important massive stars. However, their origin and the observed binary fraction within the entire WR population are still debated. We investigate some possible merger channels for the formation of WRs,…

WR140 is the archetype long-period colliding wind binary (CWB) system, and is well known for dramatic variations in its synchrotron emission during its 7.9-yr, highly eccentric orbit. This emission is thought to arise from relativistic…

We present the discovery of OB type absorption lines superimposed to the emission line spectrum, and the first double-lined orbital elements for the massive Wolf-Rayet binary HDE 318016 (=WR 98), a spectroscopic binary in a circular orbit…

We report the first measurement of the orbital period of a long-period colliding-wind binary (CWB) system WR 146, derived by tracing the rotational morphology of its wind-colliding region (WCR) and the relative orientation of the two binary…

Colliding Wolf-Rayet (WR) winds produce thermal X-ray emission widely observed by X-ray telescopes. In wide WR+O binaries, such as WR 140, the X-ray flux is tied to the orbital phase, and is a direct probe of the winds' properties. In the…

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…

We use hydrodynamical models of the wind-collision region (WCR) in the archetype colliding-wind system WR140 to determine the spatial and spectral distribution of the radio, X-ray and gamma-ray emission from shock accelerated electrons. Our…

We discovered that the Wolf-Rayet (WR)+OB star binary, WR 104, renowned for its associated "dusty pinwheel nebula" recently spatially resolved with infrared interferometry, exhibits strong quasi-periodic optical variations with a full…

The recent discovery of a gravitational wave from the merging of two black holes of about 30 solar masses each challenges our incomplete understanding of massive stars and their evolution. Critical ingredients comprise mass-loss, rotation,…

Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are luminous massive blue stars thought to be immediate precursors to the supernova terminating their brief lives. The existence of dust shells around such stars has been enigmatic since their discovery some 30 years…

We use ultraviolet space-based (FUSE, HST) and optical/IR ground-based (2.3m MSSSO, NTT) spectroscopy to determine the physical parameters of six WC4-type Wolf-Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Stellar parameters are revised…

Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) are evolved massive stars in the brief stage before they undergo core collapse. Not only are they rare, but they also can be particularly difficult to find due to the high extinction in the Galactic plane. This paper…

Aims: Following our comprehensive studies of the WR stars in the Milky Way, we now present spectroscopic analyses of almost all known WN stars in the LMC. Methods: For the quantitative analysis of the wind-dominated emission-line spectra,…

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…

WR146 is a WC6+O8 colliding-wind binary (CWB) system with thermal emission from the stellar winds of the two stars, and bright non-thermal emission from the wind-collision region (WCR) where the winds collide. We present high resolution…

We present infrared photometry of the episodic dust-making Wolf-Rayet system WR19 (LS3), tracking its fading from a third observed dust-formation episode in 2007 and strengthening the view that these episodes are periodic (P = 10.1+/-0.1…

Context. Wolf-Rayet (WR) and O-star binaries can be the progenitors of X-ray binaries and double black hole binaries. Their formation is not yet fully understood, however. For 21 observed WR+O systems, we aim to infer whether the mass…

We present the first SB2 orbital solution and disentanglement of the massive Wolf-Rayet binary R145 (P = 159d) located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The primary was claimed to have a stellar mass greater than 300Msun, making it a candidate…

WR 148 (HD 197406) is an extreme runaway system considered to be a potential candidate for a short-period (4.3173 d) rare WR + compact object binary. Provided with new high resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra from the Keck observatory,…

We report the discovery of variability in the X-ray emission from the Wolf-Rayet type star WR 65. Using archival Chandra data spanning over 5 yr we detect changes of the X-ray flux by a factor of 3 accompanied by changes in the X-ray…