Imaging 'Pinwheel'nebulae with optical long-baseline interferometry

2010 
Dusty Wolf-Rayet stars are few but remarkable in terms of dust production rates (up to one millionth of solar mass per year). Infrared excesses associated to mass-loss are found in the sub-types WC8 and WC9. Few WC9d stars are hosting a “pinwheelnebula, indirect evidence of a companion star around the primary. While few other WC9d stars have a dust shell which has been barely resolved so far, the available angular resolution offered by single telescopes is insufficient to confirm if they also host “pinwheelnebulae or not. In this article, we present the possible detection of such nebula around the star WR118. We discuss about the potential of interferometry to image more “pinwheelnebulae around other WC9d stars.
    • Correction
    • Source
    • Cite
    • Save
    • Machine Reading By IdeaReader
    7
    References
    0
    Citations
    NaN
    KQI
    []