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Related papers: Nested Dust Shells around the Wolf-Rayet Binary WR…

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We present the first near-infrared images of dusty Wolf-Rayet star WR 98a. Aperture masking interferometry has been utilized to recover images at the diffraction-limit of the Keck-I telescope, ~<50 mas at 2.2 micron. Multi-epoch…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 J. D. Monnier , P. G. Tuthill , W. C. Danchi

Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are the evolutionary phases of very massive stars prior to the final supernova explosion stage. These stars lose substantial mass during WN and WC stages. The mass losses are associated with diverse elemental and…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2019-12-23 Anuj Gupta , Sandeep Sahijpal

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…

Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-24 T. Kato , K. Haseda , H. Yamaoka , K. Takamizawa

A handful of binary Wolf-Rayet stars are known to harbour spectacular spiral structures spanning a few hundred AU. These systems host some of the highest dust production rates in the Universe and are therefore interesting candidates to…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-10-26 A. Soulain , A. Lamberts , F. Millour , P. Tuthill , R. M. Lau

Photometry at 3.4 and 4.6 micron of 128 Population~I WC type Wolf-Rayet stars in the Galaxy and 12 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) observed in the WISE NEOWISE-R survey was searched for evidence of circumstellar dust emission and its…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2019-07-10 Peredur M Williams

We review the observational evidence for dust formation in Wolf-Rayet binary systems and in Type II Supernova ejecta. Existing theoretical models describing the condensation of solids in carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet stars and in Supernovae close…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2009-09-02 I. Cherchneff

The striking broad emission line spectroscopic appearance of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars has long defied analysis, due to the extreme physical conditions within their line and continuum forming regions. Recently, model atmosphere studies have…

Astrophysics · Physics 2008-11-26 Paul A Crowther

Much of the carbonaceous dust observed in the early universe may originate from colliding wind binaries (CWBs) hosting hot, luminous Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. Downstream of the shock between the stellar winds there exists a suitable…

We present a comprehensive infrared (IR) study of the iconic Wolf-Rayet (WR) wind-blown bubble NGC6888 around WR136. We use Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Spitzer IRAC and MIPS and Herschel PACS IR images to produce a sharp…

We present results from a spectroscopic search for massive companions to dust-making Galactic WC9 stars as a step to testing the paradigm that dust formation in these systems requires colliding winds to produce over densities. We find…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 P. M. Williams , K. A. van der Hucht , G. Rauw

We present radiative-transfer modelling of the dusty spiral Pinwheel Nebula observed around the Wolf-Rayet/OB-star binary WR104. The models are based on the three-dimensional radiative-transfer code TORUS, modified to include an adaptive…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 Tim J Harries , John D Monnier , Neil H Symington , Ryuichi Kurosawa

When two massive stars orbit each other, their winds create a shock cone. In some cases, an evolved, carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet (WR) star's wind collides with that of an orbiting OB star, condensing into dust downstream. This dust is then seen…

A small number of dusty Wolf-Rayet stars have been resolved into pinwheel nebulae, defined by their ``rotating'' spiral dust shells observed in the infrared. This morphology is naturally explained by dust formation associated with colliding…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-07 J. D. Monnier , L. J. Greenhill , P. G. Tuthill , W. C. Danchi

We present the first visual orbit for the nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet binary, WR 133 (WN5o + O9I) based on observations made with the CHARA Array and the MIRC-X combiner. This orbit represents the first visual orbit for a WN star and only the…

There is growing evidence that a treatment of binarity amongst OB stars is essential for a full theory of stellar evolution. However the binary properties of massive stars - frequency, mass ratio and orbital separation - are still poorly…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-28 J. S. Clark , B. W. Ritchie , I. Negueruela , P. A. Crowther , A. Damineli , F. J. Jablonski , N. Langer

Context. WR104 is an emblematic dusty Wolf-Rayet star and the prototypical member of a subgroup hosting spirals that are mainly observable with high-angular resolution techniques. Previous aperture masking observations showed that WR104 is…

We have spectroscopically discovered a pair of twin, nitrogen-type, hydrogen-rich, Wolf-Rayet stars (WN8-9h) that are both surrounded by circular, mid-infrared-bright nebulae detected with the Spitzer Space Telescope and MIPS instrument.…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-19 Jon Mauerhan , Stefanie Wachter , Pat Morris , Schuyler Van Dyk , D. W. Hoard

We present the results of a four-month, spectroscopic campaign of the Wolf-Rayet dust-making binary, WR137. We detect only small-amplitude, random variability in the CIII5696 emission line and its integrated quantities (radial velocity,…