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Main Authors: Patten, Nikhil, Kobulnicky, Henry A., Povich, Matthew S., Whisnant, Angelica S., Andrews, Sydney, Boone, Alexandra, Dandu, Srujan, Jones, Naomi, Justice, S. Nick, Hope, Dylan, Larsen, Alexander, McCrory, Ryan, Meredith, Julia, Meza, Maria Renee, Rosenthal, Alexandra C., Salazar, William, Sterling, Alexander R., Yesmin, Noshin, Dale, Daniel A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.07904
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author Patten, Nikhil
Kobulnicky, Henry A.
Povich, Matthew S.
Whisnant, Angelica S.
Andrews, Sydney
Boone, Alexandra
Dandu, Srujan
Jones, Naomi
Justice, S. Nick
Hope, Dylan
Larsen, Alexander
McCrory, Ryan
Meredith, Julia
Meza, Maria Renee
Rosenthal, Alexandra C.
Salazar, William
Sterling, Alexander R.
Yesmin, Noshin
Dale, Daniel A.
author_facet Patten, Nikhil
Kobulnicky, Henry A.
Povich, Matthew S.
Whisnant, Angelica S.
Andrews, Sydney
Boone, Alexandra
Dandu, Srujan
Jones, Naomi
Justice, S. Nick
Hope, Dylan
Larsen, Alexander
McCrory, Ryan
Meredith, Julia
Meza, Maria Renee
Rosenthal, Alexandra C.
Salazar, William
Sterling, Alexander R.
Yesmin, Noshin
Dale, Daniel A.
contents Stellar bowshock nebulae are arcuate shock fronts formed by the interaction of radiation-driven stellar winds and the relative motion of the ambient interstellar material. Stellar bowshock nebulae provide a promising means to measure wind-driven mass loss, independent of other established methods. In this work, we characterize the stellar sources at the center of bowshock nebulae drawn from all-sky catalogs of 24 $μ$m-selected nebulae. We obtain new, low-resolution blue optical spectra for \numstars~stars and measure stellar parameters temperature \teff, surface gravity \logg, and projected rotational broadening \vsini. We perform additional photometric analysis to measure stellar radius \rstar, luminosity \lstar, and visual-band extinction $A_V$. All but one of our targets are O and early B stars, with temperatures ranging from $T$=16.5--46.8~k\kelvin, gravities $\log g=$2.57--4.60, and \vsini~from $<$100--400~\kms. With the exception of rapid rotator $ζ$ Oph, bowshock stars do not rotate at or near critical velocities. At least 60 of 103 (60\%) OB bowshock stars are binaries, consistent with the multiplicity fraction of other OB samples. The sample shows a runaway fraction of 23\%, with \numrunaway~stars having $v_{\text{2D}}\geq25$~\kms. Of the 19 runaways, at least 15 ($\geq$79\%) are binaries, favoring dynamical ejection over the binary supernova channel for producing runaways. We provide a comprehensive census of stellar parameters for bowshock stars, useful as a foundation for determining the mass-loss rates for OB-type stars -- one of the single most critical factors in stellar evolution governing the production of neutron stars and black holes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_07904
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fundamental Parameters for Central Stars of 103 Infrared Bowshock Nebulae
Patten, Nikhil
Kobulnicky, Henry A.
Povich, Matthew S.
Whisnant, Angelica S.
Andrews, Sydney
Boone, Alexandra
Dandu, Srujan
Jones, Naomi
Justice, S. Nick
Hope, Dylan
Larsen, Alexander
McCrory, Ryan
Meredith, Julia
Meza, Maria Renee
Rosenthal, Alexandra C.
Salazar, William
Sterling, Alexander R.
Yesmin, Noshin
Dale, Daniel A.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Stellar bowshock nebulae are arcuate shock fronts formed by the interaction of radiation-driven stellar winds and the relative motion of the ambient interstellar material. Stellar bowshock nebulae provide a promising means to measure wind-driven mass loss, independent of other established methods. In this work, we characterize the stellar sources at the center of bowshock nebulae drawn from all-sky catalogs of 24 $μ$m-selected nebulae. We obtain new, low-resolution blue optical spectra for \numstars~stars and measure stellar parameters temperature \teff, surface gravity \logg, and projected rotational broadening \vsini. We perform additional photometric analysis to measure stellar radius \rstar, luminosity \lstar, and visual-band extinction $A_V$. All but one of our targets are O and early B stars, with temperatures ranging from $T$=16.5--46.8~k\kelvin, gravities $\log g=$2.57--4.60, and \vsini~from $<$100--400~\kms. With the exception of rapid rotator $ζ$ Oph, bowshock stars do not rotate at or near critical velocities. At least 60 of 103 (60\%) OB bowshock stars are binaries, consistent with the multiplicity fraction of other OB samples. The sample shows a runaway fraction of 23\%, with \numrunaway~stars having $v_{\text{2D}}\geq25$~\kms. Of the 19 runaways, at least 15 ($\geq$79\%) are binaries, favoring dynamical ejection over the binary supernova channel for producing runaways. We provide a comprehensive census of stellar parameters for bowshock stars, useful as a foundation for determining the mass-loss rates for OB-type stars -- one of the single most critical factors in stellar evolution governing the production of neutron stars and black holes.
title Fundamental Parameters for Central Stars of 103 Infrared Bowshock Nebulae
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.07904