The Wolf-Rayet Content of the Andromeda Galaxy: What Do Massive Stars Really Do When the Metallicity is Above Solar?

Details The Wolf-Rayet Content of the Andromeda Galaxy: What Do Massive Stars Really Do When the Metallicity is Above Solar? The Wolf-Rayet Content of the Andromeda Galaxy: What Do Massive Stars Really Do When the Metallicity is Above Solar?

Aug 2000

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000noao.propr..64m&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #2000B-0064

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Scientific paper

We are proposing to survey M 31 for Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) and red supergiants (RSGs), providing much needed information about how massive stars evolve at greater-than-solar metallicities. Our understanding of massive star evolution is hampered by the effects of mass-loss on these stars; at higher metallicities mass-loss effects become ever more pronounced. Our previous work on other Local Group galaxies (Massey & Johnson 1998) has shown that the number of RSGs to WRs correlates well with metallicity, changing by a factor of 6 from NGC 6822 (log O/H+12=8.3) to the inner parts of M 33 (8.7). Our study of five small regions in M 31 suggests that above this value the ratio of RSGs to WRs doesn't change: does this mean that no massive star that becomes a WR spends any time as a RSG at above solar metallicities? We fear instead that our sample (selected, afterall, for containing WR stars) was not sufficiently well-mixed in age to provide useful global values; the study we propose here will survey all of M 31. Detection of WRs will provide fundamental data not only on massive star evolution, but also act as tracers of the most massive stars, and improve our knowledge of recent star-formation in the Andromeda Galaxy.

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