ASCA Observations of the Enigmatic Wolf-Rayet Star AS431 (= WR147)

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

We present results of a ~30 ksec ASCA X-ray observation of the unusual Wolf-Rayet star AS431 (= WR147). Infrared observations have revealed a 2.2 micron source located ~0.''6 north of the optical WN8 star, which is possibly a companion. Nonthermal radio emission has been detected at a position nearly coincident with the IR source, but its origin is not yet understood. Our objective was to place tighter constraints on the origin of the X-ray emission that was originally detected by Einstein, with emphasis on discriminating between wind shock models and models that postulate accretion onto a compact companion. The ASCA spectra cover the energy range 0.5 - 10 keV, but are heavily absorbed below ~ 1 keV with a derived column density of N_H ~ 10(22.3) cm(-2) . Roughly half of the observed flux emerges at energies above 4 keV. Emission lines are present, and spectral models show a strong contribution from plasma over a broad range of temperatures from <=0.4 keV up to at least ~2 keV. No X-ray variability was detected down to a time resolution of 512 s. The absorption-corrected X-ray lumimosity is Lx (0.5 - 10 keV) = 6 x 10(32) ergs s(-1) at a distance of 630 pc. We will discuss these new X-ray results in the context of wind shock and compact companion models.

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