TY - JOUR A1 - Toalá, Jesús Alberto A1 - Bowman, Dominic A1 - Van Reeth, Timothy A1 - Todt, Helge Tobias A1 - Dsilva, Karan A1 - Shenar, Tomer A1 - Koenigsberger, Gloria Suzanne A1 - Estrada-Dorado, Sandino A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer T1 - Multiple variability time-scales of the early nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet star WR 7 JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We present the analysis of the optical variability of the early, nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR 7. The analysis of multisector Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curves and high-resolution spectroscopic observations confirm multiperiodic variability that is modulated on time-scales of years. We detect a dominant period of 2.6433 +/- 0.0005 d in the TESS sectors 33 and 34 light curves in addition to the previously reported high-frequency features from sector 7. We discuss the plausible mechanisms that may be responsible for such variability in WR 7, including pulsations, binarity, co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs), and clumpy winds. Given the lack of strong evidence for the presence of a stellar or compact companion, we suggest that WR 7 may pulsate in quasi-coherent modes in addition to wind variability likely caused by CIRs on top of stochastic low-frequency variability. WR 7 is certainly a worthy target for future monitoring in both spectroscopy and photometry to sample both the short (less than or similar to 1 d) and long (greater than or similar to 1000 d) variability time-scales. KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: evolution KW - stars: individual: WR 7 KW - stars: winds KW - outflows KW - stars: Wolft-Rayet Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1455 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 514 IS - 2 SP - 2269 EP - 2277 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Klaus A1 - Reindl, Nicole A1 - Dorsch, Matti A1 - Geier, Stephan A1 - Munari, Ulisse A1 - Raddi, Roberto T1 - Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium spectral analysis of five hot, hydrogen-deficient pre-white dwarfs JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics N2 - Hot, compact, hydrogen-deficient pre-white dwarfs (pre-WDs) with effective temperatures of Teff > 70 000 K and a surface gravity of 5.0 < logg < 7.0 are rather rare objects despite recent and ongoing surveys. It is believed that they are the outcome of either single star evolution (late helium-shell flash or late helium-core flash) or binary star evolution (double WD merger). Their study is interesting because the surface elemental abundances reflect the physics of thermonuclear flashes and merger events. Spectroscopically they are divided in three different classes, namely PG1159, O(He), or He-sdO. We present a spectroscopic analysis of five such stars that turned out to have atmospheric parameters in the range Teff = 70 000-80 000 K and logg = 5.2-6.3. The three investigated He-sdOs have a relatively high hydrogen mass fraction (10%) that is unexplained by both single (He core flash) and binary evolution (He-WD merger) scenarios. The O(He) star JL 9 is probably a binary helium-WD merger, but its hydrogen content (6%) is also at odds with merger models. We found that RL 104 is the 'coolest' (Teff = 80 000 K) member of the PG1159 class in a pre-WD stage. Its optical spectrum is remarkable because it exhibits C※ IV lines involving Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers up to n = 22. Its rather low mass (0.48-0.02+0.03 M·) is difficult to reconcile with the common evolutionary scenario for PG1159 stars due to it being the outcome of a (very) late He-shell flash. The same mass-problem faces a merger model of a close He-sdO plus CO WD binary that predicts PG1159-like abundances. Perhaps RL 104 originates from a very late He-shell flash in a CO/He WD formed by a merger of two low-mass He-WDs. KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: abundances KW - stars: evolution KW - subdwarfs KW - white dwarfs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202142397 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 658 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER -