Radial velocity study of six known WN3/O3 stars Virtual Observatory Resource

Authors
  1. Massey P.
  2. Neugent K.F.
  3. Morrell N.I.
  4. Published by
    CDS
Abstract

The WN3/O3 Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars were discovered as part of our survey for WRs in the Magellanic Clouds. The WN3/O3s show the emission lines of a high-excitation WN star and the absorption lines of a hot O-type star, but our prior work has shown that the absorption spectrum is intrinsic to the WR star. Their place in the evolution of massive stars remains unclear. Here we investigate the possibility that they are the products of binary evolution. Although these are not WN3+O3 V binaries, they could still harbor unseen companions. To address this possibility, we have conducted a multiyear radial velocity study of six of the nine known WN3/O3s. Our study finds no evidence of statistically significant radial velocity variations, and allows us to set stringent upper limits on the mass of any hypothetical companion star: for probable orbital inclinations, any companion with a period less than 100 days must have a mass <2M_{sun}_. For periods less than 10 days, any companion would have to have a mass <1M_{sun}_. We argue that scenarios where any such companion is a compact object are unlikely. The absorption lines indicate a normal projected rotational velocity, making it unlikely that these stars evolved with the aid of a companion star that has since merged. The modest rotation also suggests that these stars are not the result of homogenous evolution. Thus it is likely that these stars are a normal but short-lived stage in the evolution of massive stars.

Keywords
  1. wolf-rayet-stars
  2. radial-velocity
  3. visible-astronomy
  4. spectroscopy
  5. magellanic-clouds
Bibliographic source Bibcode
2023ApJ...947...77M
See also HTML
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/947/77
IVOA Identifier IVOID
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/947/77

Access

Web browser access HTML
https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/947/77
https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/947/77
http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/947/77
IVOA Table Access TAP
https://tapvizier.cds.unistra.fr/TAPVizieR/tap
Run SQL-like queries with TAP-enabled clients (e.g., TOPCAT).
IVOA Cone Search SCS
For use with a cone search client (e.g., TOPCAT).
https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/ApJ/947/77/table1?
https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/ApJ/947/77/table1?
http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/ApJ/947/77/table1?

History

2025-06-18T13:37:24Z
Resource record created
2025-06-18T13:37:24Z
Created
2025-07-01T06:26:59Z
Updated

Contact

Name
CDS support team
Postal Address
CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
E-Mail
cds-question@unistra.fr