Wolf-Rayet stars, black holes, and gamma-ray bursters in close binaries

Abstract

We consider the evolutionary status of observed close binary systems containing black holes and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. When the component masses and the orbital period of a system are known, the reason for the formation of a WR star in an initial massive system of two main-sequence stars can be established. Such WR stars can form due to the action of the stellar wind from a massive OB star (MOB≥50M⊙), conservative mass transfer between components with close initial masses, or the loss of the common envelope in a system with a large (up to ∼25) initial component mass ratio. The strong impact of observational selection effects on the creation of samples of close binaries with black holes and WR stars is demonstrated. We estimate theoretical mass-loss rates for WR stars, which are essential for our understanding the observed ratio of the numbers of carbon and nitrogen WR stars in the Galaxy \(\dot M_{WR} (M_ \odot yr^{ - 1} ) = 5 \times 10^{ - 7} (M_{WR} /M_ \odot )^{1.3} \). We also estimate the minimum initial masses of the components in close binaries producing black holes and WR stars to be ∼25M⊙. The spatial velocities of systems with black holes indicate that, during the formation of a black hole from a WR star, the mass loss reaches at least several solar masses. The rate of formation of rapidly rotating Kerr black holes in close binaries in the Galaxy is ∼3×10−6 yr−1. Their formation may be accompanied by a burst of gamma radiation, possibly providing clues to the nature of gamma-ray bursts. The initial distribution of the component mass ratios for close binaries is dN∼dq=dM2/M1 in the interval 0.04≲q0≤1, suggesting a single mechanism for their formation.