Photometric variability of WC9 stars

Details Photometric variability of WC9 stars Photometric variability of WC9 stars

2008-10-10

arxiv.org/abs/0810.1932v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

7 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, AMStex

Scientific paper

10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14040.x

Do some Wolf-Rayet stars owe their strong winds to something else besides radiation pressure? The answer to this question is still not entirely obvious, especially in certain Wolf-Rayet subclasses, mainly WN8 and WC9. Both of these types of Wolf-Rayet stars are thought to be highly variable, as suggested by observations, possibly due to pulsations. However, only the WN8 stars have so far been vigorously and systematically investigated for variability. We present here the results of a systematic survey during 3 consecutive weeks of 19 Galactic WC9 stars and 1 WC8 star for photometric variability in two optical bands, V and I. Of particular interest are the correlated variations in brightness and colour index in the context of carbon-dust formation, which occurs frequently in WC9 and some WC8 stars. In the most variable case, WR76, we used this information to derive a typical dust grain size of ~ 0.1 um. However, most photometric variations occur at surprisingly low levels and in fact almost half of our sample shows no significant variability at all above the instrumental level (sigma ~ 0.005 - 0.01 mag).

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Photometric variability of WC9 stars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Photometric variability of WC9 stars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Photometric variability of WC9 stars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-528061