The Wolf-Rayet population in 30 Doradus and its surroundings

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (64) References (44) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Wolf-Rayet Population in 30 Doradus and Its Surroundings Moffat, Anthony F. J. ; Niemela, Virpi S. ; Phillips, M. M. ; Chu, You-Hua ; Seggewiss, Wilhelm Abstract An assessment is made of the Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars in the central five arcmin diameter of the 30 Dor Nebula. About 15 genuine W-R stars are found, about 75 percent of which are late type WN, luminous (WNL) stars of type WN6 and WN7. The fraction of WC stars tends to increase toward the center of 30 Dor, while WN8-10 and WN2-5 stars show no preference for the 30 Dor core. Assuming coeval star formation and that WC stars are more evolved than WN stars, the young age of the central cluster implies that the WNL stars must have evolved from very massive progenitors and that the WC stars came from even more massive stars. The visual multiple system R140 in the nebula contains at least three W-R stars, one of type WC5 and the others of type WNL. Using the currently claimed smaller distance modulus 18.2 of the LMC, the absolute visual magnitudes of the W-R stars in the 30 Dor central cluster are found to be similar to those of their Galactic counterparts. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: January 1987 DOI: 10.1086/164906 Bibcode: 1987ApJ...312..612M Keywords: Binary Stars; Magellanic Clouds; Nebulae; Stellar Evolution; Wolf-Rayet Stars; Late Stars; Radial Velocity; Star Formation; Stellar Spectrophotometry; Astrophysics; GALAXIES: MAGELLANIC CLOUDS; NEBULAE: INDIVIDUAL NAME: 30 DORADUS; STARS: BINARIES; STARS: EVOLUTION; STARS: STELLAR STATISTICS; STARS: WOLF-RAYET full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (15) NED (1)