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AKARI's infrared view on nearby stars. Using AKARI infrared camera all-sky survey, 2MASS, and Hipparcos catalogs
Context. The AKARI, a Japanese infrared space mission, has performed anAll-Sky Survey in six infrared-bands from 9 to 180 ?m with higherspatial resolutions and better sensitivities than IRAS. Aims: Weinvestigate the mid-infrared (9 and 18 ?m) point source catalog (PSC)obtained with the infrared camera (IRC) onboard AKARI, in order tounderstand the infrared nature of the known objects and to identifypreviously unknown objects. Methods: Color-color diagramsand a color-magnitude diagram were plotted with the AKARI-IRC PSCand other available all-sky survey catalogs. We combined the Hipparcosastrometric catalog and the 2MASS all-sky survey catalog with theAKARI-IRC PSC. We furthermore searched literature and SIMBADastronomical database for object types, spectral types, and luminosityclasses. We identified the locations of representative stars and objectson the color-magnitude and color-color diagram schemes. Theproperties of unclassified sources can be inferred from their locationson these diagrams. Results: We found that the (B-V) vs.(V-S9W) color-color diagram is useful for identifying thestars with infrared excess emerged from circumstellar envelopes ordisks. Be stars with infrared excess are separated well from other typesof stars in this diagram. Whereas (J-L18W) vs. (S9W-L18W)diagram is a powerful tool for classifying several object types.Carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and OH/IR stars formdistinct sequences in this color-color diagram. Young stellarobjects (YSOs), pre-main sequence (PMS) stars, post-AGB stars, andplanetary nebulae (PNe) have the largest mid-infrared color excess andcan be identified in the infrared catalog. Finally, we plot the L18W vs.(S9W-L18W) color-magnitude diagram, using the AKARI data togetherwith Hipparcos parallaxes. This diagram can be used to identify low-massYSOs and AGB stars. We found that this diagram is comparable to the [24]vs. ([8.0]-[24]) diagram of Large Magellanic Cloud sources usingthe Spitzer Space Telescope data. Our understanding of Galactic objectswill be used to interpret color-magnitude diagram of stellar populationsin the nearby galaxies that Spitzer Space Telescope observed. Conclusions: Our study of the AKARI color-color andcolor-magnitude diagrams will be used to explore properties ofunknown objects in the future. In addition, our analysis highlights afuture key project to understand stellar evolution with a circumstellarenvelope, once the forthcoming astronometrical data with GAIA areavailable.Catalog (full Tables 3 and 4) are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/514/A2
| A Systematic Search for Corotating Interaction Regions in Apparently Single Galactic Wolf-Rayet Stars. I. Characterizing the Variability
We present the results of a systematic search for large-scalespectroscopic variability in apparently single Wolf-Rayet (WR) starsbrighter than v ~ 12.5. In this first paper we characterize the variousforms of variability detected and distinguish several separate groups.For each star in our sample, we obtained 4-5 high-resolution spectrawith signal-to-noise ratio ~100. Our ultimate goal is to identify newcandidates presenting variability that potentially comes from corotatinginteraction regions (CIRs). Out of a sample of 25 stars, 10 were foundto display large-scale changes of which four are of CIR-type (WR 1,WR 115, WR 120, and WR 134). The star WR 134 wasalready known to show such changes from previous studies. Three WN8stars present a different type of large-scale variability and we believedeserve a group of their own. Also, all three WC9d stars in our samplepresent large-scale variability, but it remains to be checked if theseare binaries, as many dust-making WR stars are double. Finally, of theremaining stars, 10 were found to show small-amplitude spectral changes,which we attribute to normal line-profile variability due toinhomogeneities in the wind, and five were found to show no spectralvariability, as far as can be concluded from the data in hand. Follow-upstudies are required to identify potential periods for our candidatesshowing CIR-type changes and eventually estimate a rotation rate forthese WR stars.
| Near-Infrared Spectra of 21 Wolf-Rayet Stars: Wind Clumping and Mass-Loss Rates
We present 0.9-2.4?m spectra of 21 galactic Wolf-Rayet (WR) starsthat were obtained by using an echelle spectrograph attached to the 1.5minfrared telescope in Tokyo. The observed Wolf-Rayet stars contain12WNE, 3WNL, and 6WC stars. The near-infrared continuum spectra can befitted by the superposition of stellar blackbody radiation with astellar effective temperatures, T*, of 30-60kK and free-freeradiation from the stellar wind with an electron temperature,Te, of ˜15kK. However, these calculated spectra showan excess at cm wavelength compared with the cm data for almost allstars. This may be interpreted by an infrared excess flux possibly dueto the clumping of the stellar wind gas. Assuming an ``enhancementfactor'' that depends on the distance from the center of the stars as˜r?, we can reproduce both our near-infraredspectra and the cm data by this clump-corrected free-free radiationwith mass-loss rates similar to those derived by Nugis et al. On theother hand, we also estimated the mass-loss rates from our HeI 1.083and HeII 1.012 fluxes without a consideration of clumping, although amore detailed consideration should be necessary in order to estimatemore reliable values of the mass-loss rates from the He line fluxes.
| 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) starsfound as part of an infrared (IR) broad-band study of candidate WR starsin the Galaxy. We have derived an empirically based selection algorithmwhich has selected ~5000 WR candidate stars located within the Galacticplane drawn from the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane SurveyExtraordinaire (mid-IR) and Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (near-IR)catalogues. Spectroscopic follow-up of 184 of these reveals 11nitrogen-rich (WN) and four carbon-rich (WC) WR stars. Early WC subtypesare absent from our sample and none shows evidence for circumstellardust emission. Of the candidates which are not WR stars, ~120 displayedhydrogen emission-line features in their spectra. Spectral featuressuggest that the majority of these are in fact Bsupergiants/hypergiants, ~40 of these are identified Be/B[e] candidates.Here, we present the optical spectra for six of the newly detected WRstars, 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 themost successful means for locating evolved, massive stars in the Galaxy.
| Distances to Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars Using Red Clump Stars
We identify ``red clump stars''-core helium-burning giants-among 2MASSstars and use them to measure the run of reddening with distance in thedirection of each of the Galactic anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs). Wecombine this with extinction estimates from X-ray spectroscopy to inferdistances and find that the locations of all AXPs are consistent withbeing in Galactic spiral arms. We also find that the 2-10 keVluminosities implied by our distances are remarkably similar for allAXPs, being all around ~1.3×1035 ergs s-1.Furthermore, using our distances to estimate effectiveblackbody-emitting radii, we find that the radii are tightlyanticorrelated with pulsed fraction and somewhat less tightlyanticorrelated with blackbody temperature. We find no obviousrelationship of any property with the dipole magnetic field strengthinferred from the spin-down rate.
| The Galactic WN stars. Spectral analyses with line-blanketed model atmospheres versus stellar evolution models with and without rotation
Context: .Very massive stars pass through the Wolf-Rayet (WR) stagebefore they finally explode. Details of their evolution have not yetbeen safely established, and their physics are not well understood.Their spectral analysis requires adequate model atmospheres, which havebeen developed step by step during the past decades and account in theirrecent version for line blanketing by the millions of lines from ironand iron-group elements. However, only very few WN stars have beenre-analyzed by means of line-blanketed models yet. Aims: .Thequantitative spectral analysis of a large sample of Galactic WN starswith the most advanced generation of model atmospheres should provide anempirical basis for various studies about the origin, evolution, andphysics of the Wolf-Rayet stars and their powerful winds. Methods:.We analyze a large sample of Galactic WN stars by means of the PotsdamWolf-Rayet (PoWR) model atmospheres, which account for iron lineblanketing and clumping. The results are compared with a syntheticpopulation, generated from the Geneva tracks for massive starevolution. Results: .We obtain a homogeneous set of stellar andatmospheric parameters for the Galactic WN stars, partly revisingearlier results. Conclusions: .Comparing the results of ourspectral analyses of the Galactic WN stars with the predictions of theGeneva evolutionary calculations, we conclude that there is roughqualitative agreement. However, the quantitative discrepancies are stillsevere, and there is no preference for the tracks that account for theeffects of rotation. It seems that the evolution of massive stars isstill not satisfactorily understood.
| Tycho-2 stars with infrared excess in the MSX Point Source Catalogue
Stars of all evolutionary phases have been found to have excess infraredemission due to the presence of circumstellar material. To identify suchstars, we have positionally correlated the infrared Mid-Course SpaceExperiment (MSX) Point Source Catalogue and the Tycho-2 opticalcatalogue. Near-mid-infrared colour criteria have been developed toselect infrared excess stars. The search yielded 1938 excess stars; overhalf (979) have never previously been detected by IRAS. The excess starswere found to be young objects such as Herbig Ae/Be and Be stars, andevolved objects such as OH/IR (infrared) and carbon stars. A number ofB-type excess stars were also discovered whose infrared colours couldnot be readily explained by known catalogued objects.
| New Estimates of the Solar-Neighborhood Massive Star Birthrate and the Galactic Supernova Rate
The birthrate of stars of masses >=10 Msolar is estimatedfrom a sample of just over 400 O3-B2 dwarfs within 1.5 kpc of the Sunand the result extrapolated to estimate the Galactic supernova ratecontributed by such stars. The solar-neighborhood Galactic-plane massivestar birthrate is estimated at ~176 stars kpc-3Myr-1. On the basis of a model in which the Galactic stellardensity distribution comprises a ``disk+central hole'' like that of thedust infrared emission (as proposed by Drimmel and Spergel), theGalactic supernova rate is estimated at probably not less than ~1 normore than ~2 per century and the number of O3-B2 dwarfs within the solarcircle at ~200,000.
| Kinematical Structure of Wolf-Rayet Winds. II. Internal Velocity Scatter in WN Stars
The shortward edge of the absorption core velocities - v_black asdetermined from low resolution archived IUE spectra from the INESdatabase are presented for three P Cyg profiles of NV 1240, HeII 1640and NIV 1720 for 51 Galactic and 64 LMC Wolf-Rayet stars of the WNsubtype. These data, together with v_black of CIV 1550 line presented inNiedzielski and Skorzynski (2002) are discussed. Evidences are presentedthat v_black of CIV 1550 rarely displays the largest wind velocity amongthe four lines studied in detail and therefore its application as anestimator of the terminal wind velocity in WN stars is questioned. Anaverage v_black of several lines is suggested instead but it is pointedout that v_black of HeII 1640 usually reveals the highest observablewind velocity in Galactic and LMC WN stars. It is shown that thestratification strength decreases from WNL to WNE stars and that for WNLstars there exists a positive relation between v_black and theIonization Potential. The velocity scatter between v_black obtained fromdifferent UV lines is found to correlate well with the X-ray luminosityof single WN stars (correlation coefficient R=0.82 for the data obtainedfrom the high resolution IUE spectra) and therefore two clumpy windmodels of single WN stars are presented that allow the velocity scatterto persist up to very large distances from the stellar surface (r approx500-1000 R_*). These models are used to explain the specific features ofsingle WN stars like broad absorption troughs of strong lines havingdifferent v_black, X-ray fluxes, IR/radio continua and stratificationrelations.
| Catalog of Galactic OB Stars
An all-sky catalog of Galactic OB stars has been created by extendingthe Case-Hamburg Galactic plane luminous-stars surveys to include 5500additional objects drawn from the literature. This work brings the totalnumber of known or reasonably suspected OB stars to over 16,000.Companion databases of UBVβ photometry and MK classifications forthese objects include nearly 30,000 and 20,000 entries, respectively.
| SpeX: A Medium-Resolution 0.8-5.5 Micron Spectrograph and Imager for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
We present the design, construction, and performance of SpeX, amedium-resolution 0.8-5.5 μm cryogenic spectrograph and imager, nowin operation at the 3.0 m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) onMauna Kea. The design uses prism cross-dispersers and gratings toprovide resolving powers up to R~2000 simultaneously across 0.8-2.4,1.9-4.2, or 2.4-5.5 μm, with a 15" long slit. A high-throughputlow-resolution R~200 prism mode is also provided for faint-object andoccultation spectroscopy. Single-order 60" long-slit modes withresolving powers up to R~2000 are available for extended objects. Thespectrograph employs an Aladdin 3 1024×1024 InSb array and usesnarrow slits and a spatial scale of 0.15" pixel-1 for optimumsensitivity on point sources. An autonomous infrared slit viewer is usedfor object acquisition, infrared guiding, and scientific imaging in thewavelength range 0.8-5.5 μm. The imager employs an Aladdin 2512×512 InSb array that covers a60''×60'' field of view at 0.12"pixel-1. SpeX was successfully commissioned on IRTF during2000 May, June, and July. Astronomical observations are presented toillustrate performance.
| Kinematical Structure of Wolf-Rayet Winds. I.Terminal Wind Velocity
New terminal wind velocities for 164 Wolf-Rayet stars (from the Galaxyand LMC) based on PCyg profiles of lambda1550 CIV resonance line werederived from the archive high and low resolution IUE spectra availableform the INES database. The high resolution data on 59 WR stars (39 fromthe Galaxy and 20 from LMC) were used to calibrate the empiricalrelation lambda_min^Abs- lambda_peak^Emis vs terminal wind velocity,which was then used for determinations of the terminal wind velocitiesfrom the low resolution IUE data. We almost doubled the previous mostextended sample of such measurements. Our new measurements, based onhigh resolution data, are precise within 5-7%. Measurements, based onthe low resolution spectra have the formal errors of approx 40-60%. Acomparison of the present results with other determinations suggestshigher precision of approx 20%. We found that the terminal windvelocities for the Galactic WC and WN stars correlate with the WRspectral subtype. We also found that the LMC WN stars have winds slowerthan their Galactic counterparts, up to two times in the case of the WNEstars. No influence of binarity on terminal wind velocities was found.Our extended set of measurements allowed us to test application of theradiation driven wind theory to the WR stars. We found that, contrary toOB stars, terminal wind velocities of the WR stars correlate only weaklywith stellar temperature. We also note that the terminal to escapevelocity ratio for the WR stars is relatively low: 2.55 pm 1.14 for theGalactic WN stars and 1.78 pm 0.70 for the Galactic WCs. This ratiodecreases with temperature of WR stars, contrary to what is observed inthe case of OB stars. The presented results show complex influence ofchemical composition on the WR winds driving mechanism efficiency. Ourkinematical data on WR winds suggest evolutionary sequence: WNL -->WNE --> WCE --> WCL.
| A Mid-Infrared Spectral Survey of Galactic Wolf-Rayet Stars
We present 8-13 μm spectra at resolution R~600 of 29 northernGalactic Wolf-Rayet stars, including the first ever reportedmid-infrared (MIR) spectrum for many. Among the subtypes of the starsstudied were 14 WC, 13 WN, 1 WN/WC, and an additional reclassified WN.Lines of He I and He II, along with fine-structure lines of Ne II and SIV, are strongly present in 22 of the sources observed, while six of thesources exhibit the powerful emission of heated circumstellar carbondust. We point out similarities between our spectra and Infrared SpaceObservatory (ISO) observations of several of the same sources and notean unresolved discrepancy between the two data sets for the WC6 star WR146. We investigate the diagnostic power of MIR He I and He II lines forsubtype discrimination and find the line ratio Wλ(9.7μm He II)/Wλ(11.3 μm He I+He II) can providemoderate discrimination within the WN and WC types, though the smallnumber of stars with corresponding line pairs detected made suchassessment difficult.
| The VIIth catalogue of galactic Wolf-Rayet stars
The VIIth catalogue of galactic PopulationI Wolf-Rayet stars providesimproved coordinates, spectral types and /bv photometry of known WRstars and adds 71 new WR stars to the previous WR catalogue. This censusof galactic WR stars reaches 227 stars, comprising 127 WN stars, 87 WCstars, 10 WN/WC stars and 3 WO stars. This includes 15 WNL and 11 WCLstars within 30 pc of the Galactic Center. We compile and discuss WRspectral classification, variability, periodicity, binarity, terminalwind velocities, correlation with open clusters and OB associations, andcorrelation with Hi bubbles, Hii regions and ring nebulae. Intrinsiccolours and absolute visual magnitudes per subtype are re-assessed for are-determination of optical photometric distances and galacticdistribution of WR stars. In the solar neighbourhood we find projectedon the galactic plane a surface density of 3.3 WR stars perkpc2, with a WC/WN number ratio of 1.5, and a WR binaryfrequency (including probable binaries) of 39%. The galactocentricdistance (RWR) distribution per subtype shows RWRincreasing with decreasing WR subtype, both for the WN and WC subtypes.This RWR distribution allows for the possibility ofWNE-->WCE and WNL-->WCL subtype evolution.
| Exospheric models for the X-ray emission from single Wolf-Rayet stars
We review existing ROSAT detections of single Galactic Wolf-Rayet (WR)stars and develop wind models to interpret the X-ray emission. The ROSATdata, consisting of bandpass detections from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey(RASS) and some pointed observations, exhibit no correlations of the WRX-ray luminosity (LX) with any star or wind parameters ofinterest (e.g. bolometric luminosity, mass-loss rate or wind kineticenergy), although the dispersion in the measurements is quite large. Thelack of correlation between X-ray luminosity and wind parameters amongthe WR stars is unlike that of their progenitors, the O stars, whichshow trends with such parameters. In this paper we seek to (i) test byhow much the X-ray properties of the WR stars differ from the O starsand (ii) place limits on the temperature TX and fillingfactor fX of the X-ray-emitting gas in the WR winds. Adoptingempirically derived relationships for TX and fXfrom O-star winds, the predicted X-ray emission from WR stars is muchsmaller than observed with ROSAT. Abandoning the TX relationfrom O stars, we maximize the cooling from a single-temperature hot gasto derive lower limits for the filling factors in WR winds. Althoughthese filling factors are consistently found to be an order of magnitudegreater than those for O stars, we find that the data are consistent(albeit the data are noisy) with a trend of fx ∝(Mν&infy;)-1 in WR stars, as is also the casefor O stars.
| Catalogue of H-alpha emission stars in the Northern Milky Way
The ``Catalogue of Stars in the Northern Milky Way Having H-alpha inEmission" appears in Abhandlungen aus der Hamburger Sternwarte, Band XIin the year 1997. It contains 4174 stars, range {32degr <= l() II< 214degr , -10degr < b() II < +10degr } having the Hαline in emission. HBH stars and stars of further 99 lists taken from theliterature till the end of 1994 were included in the catalogue. We givethe cross-identification of stars from all lists used. The catalogue isalso available in the Centre de Données, Strasbourg ftp130.79.128.5 or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr and at the HamburgObservatory via internet.
| The nitrogen spectra of Wolf-Rayet stars. A grid of models and its application to the Galactic WN sample
Adopting the ``standard model'' for Wolf-Rayet atmospheres, non-LTEradiation transfer calculations are performed which account for heliumand nitrogen. Grids of theoretical models are presented for the wholerelevant parameter range. The WN classification criteria are employed inorder to identify the subtype domains, and inconsistencies arediscussed. The (almost complete) sample of known Galactic WN stars isanalyzed by comparing the observed spectra with the synthetic spectra ofthe grid models. This is the first time that nitrogen line analyses areperformed for the whole WN sample, while previous comprehensive studieswere restricted to helium models. The obtained parameters roughlyconfirm the results from the previous helium analyses, as far as latesubtypes (WNL) and early subtypes with strong lines (WNE-s) areconcerned. For early subtypes with weak lines (WNE-w), however, theparameters are substantially revised. The hottest WN star, with astellar (effective) temperature of 140kK, is WR2, which could not beanalyzed previously from its helium lines due to the lack of He I. Theother members of the WNE-w subgroup have stellar temperatures between 40and 90kK, thus populating the same temperature range as the strong-linedWNE-w, but with less dense winds. The luminosities are revised accordingto the new parameters. Moreover, reddening corrections are newlydetermined form comparing IUE data with the UV model fluxes. The averageluminosity is now log L/Lsun = 5.5 for WNE stars (both,strong and weak lined), and log L/Lsun = 5.9 for WNL (notsignificantly revised). The empirical minimum WN luminosity is10(5.0}L_{sun) , reducing former incompatibilities with predictions fromevolutionary calculations. The ratio between mechanical and radiativemomentum flow is slightly affected by the revisions, but remains muchhigher than unity: 9, 9 and 29 for the WNL, WNE-w and WNE-s subclass,respectively. Partly based on observations collected at the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO), La Silla, Chile, and on archival data fromthe International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE)
| UBV beta Database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars
A database of photoelectric UBV beta photometry for stars listed in theCase-Hamburg northern and southern Milky Way luminous stars surveys hasbeen compiled from the original research literature. Consisting of over16,000 observations of some 7300 stars from over 500 sources, thisdatabase constitutes the most complete compilation of such photometryavailable for intrinsically luminous stars around the Galactic plane.Over 5000 stars listed in the Case-Hamburg surveys still lackfundamental photometric data.
| Wolf-Rayet stars and O-star runaways with HIPPARCOS. I. Kinematics
Reliable systemic radial velocities are almost impossible to secure forWolf-Rayet stars, difficult for O stars. Therefore, to study the motions- both systematic in the Galaxy and peculiar - of these two relatedtypes of hot, luminous star, we have examined the Hipparcos propermotions of some 70 stars of each type. We find that (a) both groupsfollow Galactic rotation in the same way, (b) both have a similarfraction of ``runaways'', (c) mean kinetic ages based on displacementand motion away from the Galactic plane tend to slightly favour thecluster ejection over the the binary supernova hypothesis for theirformation, and (d) those with significant peculiar supersonic motionrelative to the ambient ISM, tend to form bow shocks in the direction ofthe motion. Based on data from the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.Table~1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Catalogue of stars in the Northern Milky Way having H-alpha in emission.
The catalogue contains 4174 stars in the Northern Milky Way, range32° ? lII< 214°, -10° < bII< +10°, having the H? line in emission. The HBH list (mainlist, Schmidt camera Hamburg-Bergedorf, red plates taken in the years1964-70) contains 1979 objects partly identical with those in otherlists of H? emission-line stars given in the literature up till1994. Non-stellar objects (e.g. H II regions, planetary nebulae) havenot been included in this catalogue except for those objects containingcentral stars which have the H? line in emission, and also forsome doubtful cases. In Part 1 the authors give the equatorial (2000.0)and galactic coordinates, the brightness and the spectrum (if existingin the literature), the membership of HBH, the estimation of continuumand H?-line intensity, the reference to the finding chart in Part2 and the cross-identification of 100 lists mostly of H? emissionline stars. In Part 2 the authors present the finding charts for morethan half of the objects; they have the "normal" orientation and mainlysize 7 arcmin square. At the end they give elementary statistics of thepresent data showing also gaps in the material.
| Large IRAS Shells Around Galactic Wolf-Rayet Stars and the O Star Phase of Wolf-Rayet Evolution
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996AJ....112.2828M
| Infrared Spectra of Massive Stars in Transition: WNL, Of, Of/WN, Be, B[e], and Luminous Blue Variable Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996ApJ...470..597M
| A three-dimensional classification for WN stars
A three-dimensional classification for WN stars is presented using (1)the HeII 5411/HeI 5875 ratio as a primary indicator of ionization, (2)FWHM 4686 and EW 5411 as indicators of line width and strength, and (3)an oscillating Pickering decrement as an indicator of the presence ofhydrogen. All WN stars in the Galaxy and two-thirds of the LMC stars areclassified on the new system. Almost all spectra inspected fall smoothlyinto categories within which the spectra are very similar. Allionization subclasses show a tight correlation between line strength andwidth, with stars containing hydrogen at the weak, narrow end, and WN/Cstars near the strong, broad end. H^+/He^++ correlates with strength andwidth with a cut-off for the presence of hydrogen, which is slightlydependent on ionization subclass, at about FWHM 4686=30A and EW5411=25A. The correlations found indicate that high (initial) mass starsevolve as narrow-line stars from late to early ionization subclass.Lower (initial) mass stars evolve with increasing line strength andwidth, probably to earlier ionization subclass. The HeII 4686/NV,III4604-40 ratio shows a clear correlation with Galactocentric radius,presumably an effect of the Z gradient. CIV 5808/HeII 5411 shows no suchcorrelation. LMC WN stars can be classified without difficulty by thecriteria established for Galactic WN stars. While individual spectra ofa given subtype are similar in the two galaxies, the frequencydistributions over ionization subclass, over EW and FWHM in subclassesWN4 and WN5, and hydrogen content in subclasses WN6-8 are different. Theeffects are presumably due to metallicity, but the causal connection isunclear.
| Spectral atlas of the Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars (WN sequence).
Spectra of 62 (i.e. almost all) Galactic single Wolf-Rayet stars of theWN sequence are compiled. These data provided the empirical basis forour comprehensive spectral analyses of these stars published recently.The observations cover wide parts of the visual range and have aspectral resolution λ/{DELTA} λ between 2000 and 3600 inmost cases. Infrared observations around 10830A are included for 18stars. The spectra are preliminary ``rectified'' by division through anestimated stellar continuum. The whole material is displayed in conciseplots sorted by spectral subtype in order to provide an overview. Accessto the full digital data is offered via anonymous file transfer.
| An IRAS-based Search for New Dusty Late-Type WC Wolf-Rayet Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995ApJS..100..413C&db_key=AST
| Chemical composition of Wolf-Rayet stars. II. Hydrogen-to-helium ratio.
The formation of HeII, HeI and HI lines in the winds of somerepresentative WN stars of different spectral subtypes has been modeled.Two different types of models were studied: the clumped winds and smoothwinds for both of which the standard velocity lawv=v_0_+(vinfinity_-v_0_) (1-R_*_/r)beta^ withβ=1 was assumed. The smooth winds model predicts about two timeslower IR fluxes than observed if one determines the matter density inthe winds through the observed values of radio fluxes. The increaseddensity smooth wind models with 1.5 times higher density as compared tothe radio-flux scaling are in reasonable agreement with IR fluxes andHeII and HeI line fluxes in the case of WN 5, WN 6 and WN 8 stars butfor other subtypes these models predict discrepant line fluxes. Theclumped wind models agree quite well with the most importantobservational data whereas somewhat lower mass loss rates are nowderived as compared to the smooth wind models. Theoretical line fluxeswere found by summing of the contributions from different layers of thewind. The statistical equilibria equations for level populations weresolved in the Sobolev approximation by taking into account the overlapof HeII and HI lines in the expanding medium. We used 40, 20 and 52level atomic models for HeII, HI and HeI respectively, whereas theinfluence of higher levels was taken into account through the correctionterms. On the basis of our modelling study we derived a simple formulafor the determination of hydrogen-to-helium ratios for WN stars whichwas used for concrete estimates for 28 stars. In all cases thehydrogen-to-helium ratios are lower than the mean cosmic value. Byinspection of the line fluxes of the neighboring HeII lines of (n-4),(n-6) and (n-8) series in the spectra of two WC stars we concluded thatno hydrogen seems to be present in their winds. The hydrogen-to-heliumratio is decreasing when going from late to early WN subtypes withstrong scatter existing among the stars of WN 6 and later subtypes.
| Interstellar Ultraviolet Extinction Towards the Nitrogen Sequence Wolf-Rayet Stars
With the archive IUE spectra of WR stars collected by Niedzielski andRochowicz (1994) we obtain the UV extinction curve for WN stars. Usingthe two-color diagram method we can reach the goal almost independently,assuming only similar (b-v)_0 for all single galactic WN stars, what isdiscussed on the basis of latest results. The resulting extinction curvediffers strongly shortwards of the 2200 bump from that of Seaton (1979)and is virtually identical to that of Krelowski and Papaj (1992).Assuming the power law shape of WN continua we obtain a new value of(b-v)_0=-0.22 for single WN stars and present E_{b-v} for 34 galactic WNstars.
| Spectral analyses of the Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars: hydrogen-helium abundances and improved stellar parameters for the WN class
Almost all known Galactic single WN stars have been analyzed applyingnon-LTE models for spherically expanding atmospheres. While in aprevious study we performed "coarse" spectral analyses based essentiallyon helium-line equivalent widths compared to a grid of models, we nowpresent improved results from 25 detailed "fine" analyses, i.e. fromfitting the line profiles with individual model calculations. Thenon-LTE models applied now account for a helium-hydrogen composition,and corresponding abundances are determined for each star. 53% of thestudied Galactic WN stars (33 out of 62) are hydrogen-free, populating aluminosity range from 10^4.6^ to 10^5.7^Lsun_. The occurrenceof hydrogen is restricted to those WN stars with lowest stellartemperatures (30...35kK, with few exceptions), comprising most stars oflate subtype (WNL) and part of the weak-lined early-type WN stars(WNE-w). But all WN stars are definitely hydrogen-deficient, compared tothe solar value. Most WN stars showing hydrogen exhibit mass fractionsβ_H_ between 10% and 30%. They cover the whole luminosity range ofthe the hydrogen-free WN stars, but extend also to higher values: agroup of ten WNL stars with hydrogen is brighter than10^5.7^Lsun_, i.e. brighter than any hydrogen-free WN star.Only three WN stars are found with hydrogen mass fractions as small as=~5%. A small group of four WN7 stars with high luminosities(>10^5.6^Lsun_) has outstandingly high hydrogen massfractions (40...53%). The gradual switching from the high mass-lossrates of the hydrogen-free WN stars to the much lower mass-loss rates oftypical OB stars is found to be correlated with the hydrogen abundance.
| Terminal Velocities of Wolf-Rayet Star Winds from Low Resolution IUE Spectra
Attracted by the simplicity of the recently published by Prinja (1994)method of determination of terminal wind velocities in hot stars fromlow resolution IUE spectra we investigate its application to WR stars.With a large sample of low resolution IUE spectra of WR stars we foundeven simpler, that is linear instead of square, empirical relationbetween Delta lambda as defined by Prinja (1994) and terminal windvelocity -- vinfty. Using this new empirical relation wepresent vinfty for a sample of 85 galactic and LMC stars, 19of them determined for the first time. We almost tripled the number ofterminal velocity determinations for LMC WR stars. The comparison withother determinations shows that this simple method is accurate to within10-20%. We confirm the correlation between terminal velocity and WCsubtype. We also show that terminal velocities of WN stars are lowerthan that of WCE. A comparison between galactic and LMC stars shows thatthe LMC WN stars have slower winds in most of WN subtypes.
| The ROSAT PSPC survey of the Wolf-Rayet stars
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Member of following groups:
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Cassiopée |
| Right ascension: | 23h43m30.61s |
| Declination: | +61°55'48.1" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.998 |
| Proper motion RA: | 5.4 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -2.1 |
| B-T magnitude: | 12.244 |
| V-T magnitude: | 11.101 |
Catalogs and designations:
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INHABITED SKY
