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2000•The Astronomical JournalOpen access

A Morphological Diagnostic for Dynamical Evolution of Wolf-Rayet Bubbles

R. A. Gruendl, You‐Hua Chu, B. C. Dunne, Sean Points

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Abstract

We have observed Hα and [O III] emission from eight of the most well-defined Wolf-Rayet ring nebulae in the Galaxy. We find that in many cases the outermost edge of the [O III] emission leads the Hα emission. We suggest that these offsets, when present, are due to the shock from the Wolf-Rayet bubble expanding into the circumstellar envelope. Thus, the details of the WR bubble morphology at Hα and [O III] can then be used to understand better the physical condition and evolutionary stage of the nebulae around Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as to place constraints on the nature of the stellar progenitor and its mass-loss history.

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What this paper is about

We have observed Hα and [O III] emission from eight of the most well-defined Wolf-Rayet ring nebulae in the Galaxy. We find that in many cases the outermost edge of the [O III] emission leads the Hα emission. We suggest that these offsets, when present, are due to the shock from the Wolf-Rayet bubble expanding into the circumstellar envelope. Thus, the details of the WR bubble morphology at Hα and [O III] can then be used to understand better the physical condition and evolutionary stage of the nebulae around Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as to place constraints on the nature of the stellar progenitor and its mass-loss history.

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Available abstract

We have observed Hα and [O III] emission from eight of the most well-defined Wolf-Rayet ring nebulae in the Galaxy. We find that in many cases the outermost edge of the [O III] emission leads the Hα emission. We suggest that these offsets, when present, are due to the shock from the Wolf-Rayet bubble expanding into the circumstellar envelope. Thus, the details of the WR bubble morphology at Hα and [O III] can then be used to understand better the physical condition and evolutionary stage of the nebulae around Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as to place constraints on the nature of the stellar progenitor and its mass-loss history.

Key concepts: Wolf–Rayet star, Astrophysics, Physics, Galaxy, Bubble, Stars, Circumstellar envelope, Envelope (radar)

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