X-ray Emission from Wolf-Rayet Stars Steve Skinner1, Svet Zhekov2, Manuel Güdel3 Werner Schmutz4, Kimberly Sokal1 1CASA, Univ. of Colorado (USA)
[email protected] 2Space Research Inst. (Bulgaria) and JILA/Univ. of Colorado (USA) 3ETH Zurich (Switzerland) 3PMOD (Switzerland) Abstract We present an overview of recent X-ray observations of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars with XMM-Newton and Chandra. Observations of several WC-type (carbon-rich) WR stars without known companions have yielded only non-detections, implying they are either very feeble X-ray emitters or perhaps even X-ray quiet. In contrast, several apparently single WN2-6 stars have been detected, but data are sparse for later WN7-9 stars. Putatively single WN stars such as WR 134 have X-ray luminosities and spectra that are strikingly similar to some known WN + OB binaries such as WR 147, suggesting a similar emission mechanism. 1 X-rays from WR Stars: Overview 3 Single Nitrogen-rich WN Stars 4 Wolf-Rayet Binaries WR stars are the evolutionary descendants of massive O • Sensitive X-ray observations have now been obtained • High-resolution X-ray grating spectra have been ob- stars and are losing mass at very high rates. They are in ad- of several putatively single WN2-6 stars with XMM tained for a few binaries such as γ2 Vel (WC8 + vanced nuclear burning stages, approaching the end of their and Chandra. All but one were detected (Fig. 1). O7.5; Fig. 3) and WR 140 (WC7 + O4-5). CCD lives as supernovae. Strong X-rays have been detected from CCD spectra exist (Fig.