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We analyse whether a stellar atmosphere model computed with the code CMFGEN provides an optimal description of the stellar observations of WR 136 and simultaneously reproduces the nebular observations of NGC 6888, such as the ionization degree, which is modelled with the pyCloudy code. All the observational material available (far and near UV and optical spectra) were used to constrain such models. We found that the stellar temperature T∗, at τ = 20, can be in a range between 70 000 and 110 000 K, but when using the nebula as an additional restriction, we found that the stellar models with T∗ ∼ 70 000 K represent the best solution for both, the star and the nebula.
I review our current understanding of the interaction between a Wolf-Rayet star's fast wind and the surrounding medium, and discuss to what extent the predictions of numerical simulations coincide with multiwavelength observations of Wolf-Rayet nebulae. Through a series of examples, I illustrate how changing the input physics affects the results of the numerical simulations. Finally, I discuss how numerical simulations together with multiwavelength observations of these objects allow us to unpick the previous mass-loss history of massive stars.
Colliding Wolf-Rayet (WR) winds produce thermal X-ray emission widely observed by X-ray telescopes. In wide WR+O binaries, such as WR 140, the X-ray flux is tied to the orbital phase, and is a direct probe of the winds’ properties. In the Galactic center, ~30 WRs orbit the super massive black hole (SMBH) within ~10”, leading to a smorgasbord of wind-wind collisions. To model the X-ray emission of WR 140 and the Galactic center, we perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations to trace the complex gaseous flows, and then carry out 3D radiative transfer calculations to compute the variable X-ray spectra. The model WR 140 RXTE light curve matches the data well for all phases except the X-ray minimum associated with periastron, while the model spectra agree with the RXTE hardness ratio and the shape of the Suzaku observations throughout the orbit. The Galactic center model of the Chandra flux and spectral shape match well in the region r ≤ 3”, but the model flux falls off too rapidly beyond this radius.
Two of the main physical parameters that govern the massive star evolution, the mass and the mass-loss rate, are still poorly determined from the observational point of view. Only binary systems could provide well constrained masses and colliding-wind binaries could bring some constraints on the mass-loss rate. Therefore, colliding-wind binaries turn out to be very promising objects. In this framework, we present detailed studies of basic observational data obtained with the XMM-Newton facility and combined with ground-based observations and other data. We expose the results for two particularly interesting WR+O colliding-wind binaries: WR22 and WR21a.
As WR 6 is a putatively single WN4 star, and is relatively bright (V = 6.9), it is an ideal case for studying the wind mechanisms in these extremely luminous stars. To obtain higher resolution spectra at higher energy (above 1 keV) than previously obtained with the XMM/Newton RGS, we have observed WR 6 with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer for 450 ks. We have resolved emission lines of S, Si, Mg, Ne, and Fe, which all show a “fin"-shaped prole, characteristic of a self-absorbed uniformly expanding shell. Steep blue edges gives robust maximal expansion velocities of about 2000 km/s, somewhat larger than the 1700km/s derived from UV lines. The He-like lines all indicate that X-ray emitting plasmas are far from the photosphere – even at the higher energies where opacity is lowest { as was also the case for the longer wavelength lines observed with XMM-Newton/RGS. Abundances determined from X-ray spectral modeling indicate enhancements consistent with nucleosynthesis. The star was also variable in X-rays and in simultaneous optical photometry obtained with Chandra aspect camera, but not coherently with the optically known period of 3.765 days.
In this review I briefly summarize our knowledge of the X-ray emission from single WN, WC, and WO stars. These stars have relatively modest X-ray luminosities, typically not exceeding 1L⊙. The analysis of X-ray spectra usually reveals thermal plasma with temperatures reaching a few x10 MK. X-ray variability is detected in some WN stars. At present we don't fully understand how X-ray radiation in produced in WR stars, albeit there are some promising research avenues, such as the presence of CIRs in the winds of some stars. To fully understand WR stars we need to unravel mechanisms of X-ray production in their winds.
Magnetic fields, non-thermal radiation and particle acceleration in colliding winds of WR-O stars
(2015)
Non-thermal emission has been detected in WR-stars for many years at long wavelengths spectral range, in general attributed to synchrotron emission. Two key ingredients are needed to explain such emissions, namely magnetic fields and relativistic particles. Particles can be accelerated to relativistic speeds by Fermi processes at strong shocks. Therefore, strong synchrotron emission is usually attributed to WR binarity. The magnetic field may also be amplified at shocks, however the actual picture of the magnetic field geometry, intensity, and its role on the acceleration of particles at WR binary systems is still unclear. In this work we discuss the recent developments in MHD modelling of wind-wind collision regions by means of numerical simulations, and the coupled particle acceleration processes related.
Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars lose copious amounts of mass and momentum through dense stellar winds. The interaction of these outflows with their surroundings results in highly structured and complex circumstellar environments, often featuring knots, arcs, shells and spirals. Recent improvements in computational power and techniques have led to the development of detailed, multi-dimensional simulations that have given new insight into the origin of these structures, and better understanding of the physical mechanisms driving their formation. We review three of the main mechanisms that shape the outflows of WR stars:
• interaction with the interstellar medium (ISM), i.e., wind-ISM interactions;
• interaction with a stellar wind, either from a previous phase of evolution or the wind from a companion star, i.e., wind-wind interactions;
• and interaction with a companion star that has a weak or insignificant outflow (e.g., a compact companion such as a neutron star or black hole), i.e.,wind-companion interactions.
We also highlight the broader implications and impact of these circumstellar structures for related phenomena, e.g., for X-ray binaries and Gamma-ray bursts.
We look at how the dynamics of colliding wind binaries (CWB) can be investigated in 2D, and how several parameters influence the dynamics of the small scale structures inside the colliding wind and the shocked regions, as well as in how the dynamics influence the shape of the collision region at large distances. The parameters we adopt are based on the binary system WR98a, one of the few Wolf-Rayet (WR) dusty pinwheels known.
Observations of the WC9+OB system WR65 in the infrared show variations of its dust emission consistent with a period near 4.8 yr, suggesting formation in a colliding-wind binary (CWB) having an elliptical orbit. If we adopt the IR maximum as zero phase, the times of X-ray maximum count and minimum extinction to the hard component measured by Oskinova & Hamann fall at phases 0.4–0.5, when the separation of the WC9 and OB stars is greatest. We consider WR65 in the context of other WC8–9+OB stars showing dust emission.