The orbital period of the long-period and colliding-wind binary WR 146 from radio interferometry of the shock cone

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Main Authors: Wen, Shiming, Zhang, Bo, Xu, Shuangjing, Sun, Yan, Mai, Xiaofeng, Zhang, Jingdong, Cui, Lang, Li, Xiaofeng, Todt, Helge, Yan, Xi, Jiang, Pengfei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Wen, Shiming
Zhang, Bo
Xu, Shuangjing
Sun, Yan
Mai, Xiaofeng
Zhang, Jingdong
Cui, Lang
Li, Xiaofeng
Todt, Helge
Yan, Xi
Jiang, Pengfei
author_facet Wen, Shiming
Zhang, Bo
Xu, Shuangjing
Sun, Yan
Mai, Xiaofeng
Zhang, Jingdong
Cui, Lang
Li, Xiaofeng
Todt, Helge
Yan, Xi
Jiang, Pengfei
contents We report the first measurement of the orbital period of a long-period colliding-wind binary (CWB) system WR 146, derived by tracing the rotational morphology of its wind-colliding region (WCR) and the relative orientation of the two binary components. This result is based on our imaging observations using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network (EVN), combined with archival data from VLBA, EVN, the Very Large Array (VLA), the enhanced Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (eMERLIN) arrays, and optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We evaluated two methods for determining the binary's orbital period based on the images of the WCR: (I) fitting the shock cone of the WCR and (II) stacking images using the cross-correlation function. Using these techniques, we find orbital period estimates of 810+120-90 years from method I and 1120+540-270 years from method II, both of which support a long orbital period of approximately 1,000 years. Furthermore, we analyzed archival spectral data of WR 146 to estimate the stellar wind velocities of the binary components, finding no significant orbital phase lag between the binary orientation and the WCR rotation. We also estimate the range of the binary's mass using the currently measured parameters.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_17930
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The orbital period of the long-period and colliding-wind binary WR 146 from radio interferometry of the shock cone
Wen, Shiming
Zhang, Bo
Xu, Shuangjing
Sun, Yan
Mai, Xiaofeng
Zhang, Jingdong
Cui, Lang
Li, Xiaofeng
Todt, Helge
Yan, Xi
Jiang, Pengfei
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We report the first measurement of the orbital period of a long-period colliding-wind binary (CWB) system WR 146, derived by tracing the rotational morphology of its wind-colliding region (WCR) and the relative orientation of the two binary components. This result is based on our imaging observations using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network (EVN), combined with archival data from VLBA, EVN, the Very Large Array (VLA), the enhanced Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (eMERLIN) arrays, and optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We evaluated two methods for determining the binary's orbital period based on the images of the WCR: (I) fitting the shock cone of the WCR and (II) stacking images using the cross-correlation function. Using these techniques, we find orbital period estimates of 810+120-90 years from method I and 1120+540-270 years from method II, both of which support a long orbital period of approximately 1,000 years. Furthermore, we analyzed archival spectral data of WR 146 to estimate the stellar wind velocities of the binary components, finding no significant orbital phase lag between the binary orientation and the WCR rotation. We also estimate the range of the binary's mass using the currently measured parameters.
title The orbital period of the long-period and colliding-wind binary WR 146 from radio interferometry of the shock cone
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.17930