The multiplicity of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars

Karan Dsilva, Tomer Shenar, Hugues Sana, Pablo Marchant

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We present the results of a magnitude-limited spectroscopic survey of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars with the HERMES spectrograph mounted on the Mercator telescope. Using cross-correlation to measure radial velocities, we measured the observed binary fractions of the Galactic carbon- (WC) and nitrogen-rich (WN) Wolf-Rayet stars to be fobsWC = 0.58 ± 0.14 and fobsWN = 0.41 ± 0.09. We used Monte-Carlo simulations with a Bayesian framework to derive the intrinsic multiplicity properties and found fintWN = 0.52+001412 and fintWC = 0.96+000422. We find that the majority of WN binaries reside in short-period systems, similar to O stars. However, the orbital period distribution of the Galactic WC population peaks at 5000 d, a discrepancy that challenges our current understanding of binary evolution in Wolf-Rayet stars.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)496-498
Number of pages3
JournalProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Volume18
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • stars: binaries
  • stars: evolution
  • stars: Wolf-Rayet

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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