X-ray Observations of Binary and Single Wolf-Rayet Stars with XMM-Newton and Chandra

We present an overview of recent X-ray observations of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars with XMM-Newton and Chandra. These observations are aimed at determining the differences in X-ray properties between massive WR + OB binary systems and putatively single WR stars. A new XMM spectrum of the nearby WN8 + OB binary WR 147 shows hard absorbed X-ray emission (including the Fe Kα line complex), characteristic of colliding wind shock sources. In contrast, sensitive observations of four of the closest known single WC (carbon-rich) WR stars have yielded only non-detections. These results tentatively suggest that single WC stars are X-ray quiet. The presence of a companion may thus be an essential factor in elevating the X-ray emission of WC + OB stars to detectable levels.     

Tentative insight into the multiplicity of the persistent dust maker WR 106 from X-ray observations

This paper presents the results of the analysis of the very first dedicated X-ray observation with XMM-Newton of WR 106. This carbon-rich WC9d Wolf–Rayet star belongs to the category of persistent dust makers (WCd stars). The issue of the multiplicity of these dust makers is pivotal to understand the dust formation process, and in this context X-ray observations may allow to reveal an X-ray emission attributable to colliding-winds in a binary system. The main result of this analysis is the lack of detection of X-rays coming from WR 106. Upper limits on the X-ray flux are estimated, but the derived numbers are not sufficient to provide compelling constraints on the existence or not of a colliding-wind region. Detailed inspection of archive data bases reveals that persistent dust makers have been poorly investigated by the most sensitive X-ray observatories. Certainly, the combination of several approaches to indirectly constrain their multiplicity should be applied to lift a part of the veil on the nature of these persistent dust makers.     

Dust Formation Chemistry in Carbon-Rich Wolf-Rayet Winds

Dust formation processes are investigated in the hot hydrogen-deficient wind of carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet (WC) stars. Results show that dust precursors (small linear carbon chains) form in large quantities only at high gas densities. This suggests that a clumpy wind or an equatorial disc are necessary to trigger dust formation in WC stars. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dust in Hydrogen-Poor Stellar Winds, from Theory to Observations

We review the nature of dust in hydrogen-deficient stellar winds, in particular cool, carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet (WC) stars, and present new observations of WC objects taken with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer on board of the ISO satellite. Predictions from theoretical models of grain precursor formation are also presented and future directions in both observational and theoretical studies are outlined. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dust properties of [WCL] CSPNS

The rather rare class of central stars of planetary nebulae thatshow Wolf-Rayet spectra have been a subject of great interest,particularly in the infrared, since their discovery in the late1960s. I will focus on further peculiarities found within thepast 1-2 years with the advent of infrared spectroscopy fromISO. Notably, these stars simultaneously betray the presenceof regions of carbon-rich and oxygen-rich dust chemistry. Icompare and contrast complete ISO spectra from 2 to 200 micronsof a small sample of [WC9] to [WC11] central stars.     

The dual dust chemistries of planetary nebulae with [WCL] central stars

The rather rare class of central stars of planetary nebulae that show very low-excitation Wolf–Rayet spectra has been a subject of great interest, particularly in the infrared, since its discovery in the late 1960s. Further peculiarities have been found with the advent of infrared spectroscopy from ISO . Notably, these objects simultaneously betray the presence of regions of carbon-rich and oxygen-rich dust chemistry. We compare and contrast complete ISO spectra between 2 and 200 μm of a sample of six [WC8] to [WC11] central stars, finding many similarities. Among this sample, one star provides strong evidence of quasi-periodic light variations, suggestive of a dust cloud orbiting in a plane from which we view the system.     

Infrared spectral evolution of carbon stars

We collected almost all Highly Processed Data Products(HPDP)of ISO SWS01 spectra for the Galactic visual carbon stars,infrared carbon stars,extreme carbon stars and carbon-rich proto-planetary nebulae(PPNs).Those infrared spectra are primarily analyzed and discussed.It is shown that either spectral shapes/peaks,or main molecular/dust features are evidenced to change in the sequence of visual carbon stars,infrared carbon stars,extreme carbon stars and carbon-rich PPNs.Statistically,in this sequence,continua are gradually changed from blue to red and locations of spectral peaks of continua are also gradually changed from short wavelengths to long wavelengths.In addition,in this sequence,intensifies of main molecular/dust features are also gradually changed from prominent in the short wavelengths to prominent in the long wavelengths.Furthermore,from 2MASS and IRAS photometric data,the sequence is also proved.Results in this paper strongly support the previous suggestion for the evolution sequence of carbon-rich objects in our Galaxy,that is the sequence of visual carbon stars→infrared carbon stars→extreme carbon stars→carbon-rich PPNs.     

Spectropolarimetric observations of WR 137

We present high signal-to-noise spectropolarimetry of the WC7+OB star WR 137 (HD 192641) covering the spectral range from 3600Å to 1.1µm. The polarization spectrum shows unambiguous evidence for an intrinsic polarization vector.     

Searching for hidden Wolf–Rayet stars in the Galactic plane – 15 new Wolf–Rayet stars

We report the discovery of 15 previously unknown Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars found as part of an infrared (IR) broad-band study of candidate WR stars in the Galaxy. We have derived an empirically based selection algorithm which has selected ∼5000 WR candidate stars located within the Galactic plane drawn from the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (mid-IR) and Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (near-IR) catalogues. Spectroscopic follow-up of 184 of these reveals 11 nitrogen-rich (WN) and four carbon-rich (WC) WR stars. Early WC subtypes are absent from our sample and none shows evidence for circumstellar dust emission. Of the candidates which are not WR stars, ∼120 displayed hydrogen emission-line features in their spectra. Spectral features suggest that the majority of these are in fact B supergiants/hypergiants, ∼40 of these are identified Be/B[e] candidates.
Here, we present the optical spectra for six of the newly detected WR stars, and the near-IR spectra for the remaining nine of our sample. With a WR yield rate of ∼7 per cent and a massive star detection rate of ∼65 per cent, initial results suggest that this method is one of the most successful means for locating evolved, massive stars in the Galaxy.     

Distribution of early-type stars and dusty matter in the direction of the stellar cluster NGC 1893

The distribution of 255 O-B9-A2, K-G stars and interstellar dust in the direction of the stellar cluster NGC 1893 is studied using V, B-V, and U-B photometric data. Sixteen groups of stars (associations) are discovered at various distances. The first group includes 9 stars of different spectral classes of later types in the sun’s neighborhood lying at a distance of 110 pc. The next 3 groups, at distances of 420, 890, and 14300 pc, are type B associations and the remaining twelve groups are OB associations. They are designated as Aur 0.11, Aur B 0.43, Aur B 0.89, Aur OB 1.4, Aur OB 2.6, AurOB 3.8, Aur OB 4.6, Aur OB 5.4, Aur OB 6.1, Aur OB 7.4, Aur OB 9.3, Aur OB11.6, Aur OB14.3, Aur OB 17.9, Aur OB 25.9, and Aur OB 31.3. For most of these stars the absorption lies within the range from 0m.45 to 5m.41. Such high absorption may be caused by circumstellar absorption as well as by the diffuse nebula IC 410. The dusty matter is distributed nonuniformly in the Aur 0.11, Aur B 0.43, and Aur B 0.89 associations. There is no dust in the space between the associations. There is essentially no dust within the groups (associations) at distances greater than 0.9 kpc. (See Table 2.) __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 243–251 (May 2007).     

Nebular complex in the region of Cas OB2 association; ring nebula Sh157

This paper presents the results of monochromatic [Oiii], [Nii], and [Sii] observations of ring nebula Sh157 around the star (WR + B0III) HD 219460 belonging to the Ba 3 cluster. A stratification of radiation typical for photoionization excitation has been revealed. The observations suggest that the Sh157 ring structure may arise as a result of the HD 219460 stellar wind blowing the surroundingHii region, and the bubble age is found to bet(2–5)×10⁵ yr. Three outer envelopes have been distinguished: a weaker extended emission shell apparently blown out by the wind from B-stars of the Ba 3 cluster, and two dust shells which are likely to be associated with NGC 7510 and Cas OB2. The paper is also concerned with the discussion of young star aggregates Ba 3, NGC 7510, Cas OB1, OB2, OB4, OB5, OB7, and Cep OBI and the associatedHii regions, shells and supershells of gas and dust, molecular clouds, and supernova remnants which may be probable members of a single giant stellar complex where the star formation process is in progress.     

Five WC9 stars discovered in the AAO/UKST Hα survey

We report the discovery of five massive Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars resulting from a programme of follow-up spectroscopy of candidate emission-line stars in the Anglo-Australian Observatory United Kingdom Schmidt Telescope (AAO/UKST) Southern Galactic Plane Hα survey. The 6195–6775 Å spectra of the stars are presented and discussed. A WC9 class is assigned to all five stars through comparison of their spectra with those of known late-type WC stars, bringing the known total number of Galactic WC9 stars to 44. Whilst three of the five WC9 stars exhibit near-infrared (NIR) excesses characteristic of hot dust emission (as seen in the great majority of known WC9 stars), we find that two of the stars show no discernible evidence of such excesses. This increases the number of known WC9 stars without NIR excesses to seven. Reddenings and distances for all five stars are estimated.     

The infrared [WC] stars

A number of late [WC] stars have unique infrared properties, not foundamong the non-[WC] planetary nebulae, and together define a class of IR-[WC]stars. They have unusual IRAS colours, resembling stars in theearliest post-AGB evolution and possibly related to PAH formation.Most or all show a double chemistry, with both a neutral (molecular)oxygen-rich and an inner carbon-rich region. Their dense nebulae indicaterecent evolution from the AGB, suggesting a fatal-thermal-pulse (FTP)scenario. Although both the colours and the stellar characteristicspredict fast evolution, it is shown that this phase must last for10⁴ yr. The morphologies of the nebulae are discussed. Forone object in Sgr, the progenitor mass (1.3 M_⊙) is known.The stellar temperatures of the IR-[WC] stars appear much higher inlow metallicity systems (LMC, Sgr). This may be indicative of anextended `pseudo' photosphere. It is proposed that re-accretion ofejected gas may slow down the post-AGB evolution and so extend the lifetime of the IR-[WC] stars.     

Wind anisotropy revealed by dust formation around wolf-rayet stars

The presence of heated circumstellar dust around WC type Wolf-Rayet stars requires the episodic or persistent condensation of carbon grains in their stellar winds. In order to survive in the stars' strong ultraviolet radiation fields, the grains must be located at least 100AU from the stellar surfaces. The densities in isotropic winds at such large distances are too low to allow grain growth and anisotropies such as clumps, disks or wind-collision wakes in colliding-wind binary systems are required to provide grain nurseries. Observational evidence for such features in grain-forming W-R stars is examined.     

On the development of infrared radiation from an expanding nova shell

We discuss the precipitation and growth of grains in carbon-rich nova ejecta with a view to understanding the evolution of infrared luminosity of such objects. An initial phase of rapid grain growth is followed by an extended period of slower growth due to thinning out of the expanding gas. The period of rapid grain growth is attended by an equally rapid rise of infrared luminosity which reaches a maximum and thereafter declines more slowly after grains have grown to a significant fraction of their final radius. This behaviour of luminosity and also a rapid decline of grain temperature from 2000–900 K predicted in an optically thin model is shown to be in good agreement with data for Nova Serpentis 1970. Comparison of our model calculations with observations provide tentative estimates of various parameters of interest for dust grains condensing in Nova Serpentis 1970.     

Baryonic fraction in the cold plus hot dark matter universe

The observational infrared spectra of a number of Wolf–Rayet stars of WC8–9 spectral classes are shown to be quite satisfactorily explained by making use of the detailed theoretical model of a dust shell made up of spherical amorphous carbon grains, the dynamics, growth–destruction, thermal and electrical charge balance of which are taken into account. The dust grains acquire mainly positive electrical charge, move with suprathermal drift velocities and may grow up to 100–200 Å as a result of implantation of impinging carbon ions. For most of the stars the fraction of condensed carbon does not exceed 1 per cent. While the nature of the grain nucleation remains unknown, the condensation distances and the grain seed production can be estimated by fitting the observational spectra with theoretical ones.     

Observations of stellar associations on the space telescope Glazar

On the basis of observations by the space telescope Glazar at 1640 Å the distribution of early (O-B-A) type stars and absorption matter in the directions of 20 known OB associations have been investigated. Forty-four stellar groups were found in these directions. The dust matter is distributed within these groups quite non-uniformly and patchy. It is absent in the space between these groups. It has been shown that 93 stars have dense circumstellar dust envelopes and half of them are sources of IR-radiation (IRAS observations). Dust clouds exist in the directions of Per OB1, Aur OB1 and Car OB1 at distances of 460, 1000, 1000 pc, respectively. Twenty new stellar groups of OB types were found.Published in Astrofizika, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 528–532, October–December, 1995.     

Spectroscopy of WC9 Wolf–Rayet stars: a search for companions

A spectroscopic search for luminous companions to WC9-type Wolf–Rayet stars making circumstellar dust reveals the presence of absorption lines attributable to companions in the blue spectra of WR 69 (HD 136488) and WR 104 (Ve2–45). Comparison of spectra of WR 104 observed in 1995 and 1997 showed the absorption lines to be more conspicuous in the latter observation and the emission lines weaker, suggesting a selective eclipse of the WC9 star similar to that observed by Crowther in 1996. The WC9 emission-line spectra are shown to be less uniform than previously thought, showing a significant range of O  ii line strengths. The only two WC9 stars in the observed sample that do not make circumstellar dust, WR 81 (He3–1316) and WR 92 (HD 157451), are found to have anomalously weak O  ii and strong He  ii lines. We suggest that these spectroscopic differences may reflect a compositional difference that plays a role in determining which of the WC9 stars make dust.     

Distribution of early type stars and dusty matter in the direction of the star cluster NGC 2175

The distribution of 120 O-B9-A2 stars and of the interstellar dust in the direction of the star clusters NGC 2175 and NGC 2175s (the complex S252) is studied in terms of V, (B-V), and (U-B) data. Ten star groups (associations) are found at distances of 410, 720, 1000, 1500, 2200, 3100, 4000, 5200, 7000, and 8100 pc. Three of these, at distances of 410, 720, and 1000 pc, are type B associations. The remaining seven are OB associations. They are designated as Gem B 0.41, Gem B 0.72, Gem B 1.0, Gem OB 1.5, Gem OB 2.2, Gem OB 3.1, Gem OB 4.0, Gem OB 5.2, Gem OB 7.0, and Gem OB 8.1. The V absorption (A_V) for stars No.2, 18, 20, 23, 24, 26, 40, 41, 47, 69, 87, 88, 90, 95, 100 and 109 is estimated to be 2^m.78,4^m.72, 2^m.69, 3^m.33, 2^m.61, 2^m.86, 4^m.67, 6^m.21, 3^m.14, 3^m.92, 2^m.69, 3^m.04, 5^m.95, 5^m.95, 3^m.20 and 5^m.66, respectively. For most of these stars the absorption lies between 0^m.5 and 2^m.5. This large absorption may be caused by circumstellar absorption. The dust in the associations Gem B 0.41 and Gem B 0.72 is distributed nonuniformly. There is no dust in the space between the associations. Essentially there is no dust inside those groups (associations) which lie at distances greater than 1 kpc.Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 45–57 (February 2005).     

Observations of the Dust Around Evolved Stars

ISOPHOT has been used to obtain low resolution spectra from 2.5μm to 5μm and 5.8μm to 11.6μm and multi-aperture photometry at 60μm of several evolved stars; oxygen-rich and carbon-rich (including the peculiar carbon-rich stars R CrB and RY Sgr). R CrB was observed early in the ISO mission, 3 weeks after it had been at minimum light. Another spectrum was obtained several months later. The second spectrum shows that the broad plateau (from around 6μm to 8μm) is still present but the flux density has declined from 60Jy to 50Jy. The spectrum for RY Sgr shows the same type of plateau. The multi-aperture data suggest that the dust shells are resolved around R CrB, RY Sgr, Y CVn and RS Lib. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.