EWOCS-V: Is Wd1-72 a recent post-interaction WR+O binary?
Fuente:
arXiv
Enregistré dans:
| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
|
| Sujets: | |
| Accès en ligne: | |
| Tags: |
Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
|
| _version_ | 1866915896049532928 |
|---|---|
| author | Larkin, C. J. K. Mackey, J. Jin, H. Sander, A. A. C. Reville, B. Anastasopoulou, K. Andersen, M. Bayo, A. Drake, J. J. Grebel, E. K. Guarcello, M. G. Haworth, T. J. Kalari, V. M. Lefever, R. R. Najarro, F. Ritchie, B. W. Sabbi, E. |
| author_facet | Larkin, C. J. K. Mackey, J. Jin, H. Sander, A. A. C. Reville, B. Anastasopoulou, K. Andersen, M. Bayo, A. Drake, J. J. Grebel, E. K. Guarcello, M. G. Haworth, T. J. Kalari, V. M. Lefever, R. R. Najarro, F. Ritchie, B. W. Sabbi, E. |
| contents | The evolutionary origin of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars at Solar metallicity is unclear. Single-star evolution from massive O stars, possibly via a Luminous Blue Variable phase, is challenged by binary period distributions of different WR subtypes. Wd1-72 is a WN7b+O binary embedded in the collective wind of the Galactic young massive cluster Westerlund 1 (Wd 1). It is surrounded by highly structured nebulosity, with cometary tails pointing away from Wd 1 and quasi-spherical droplets towards it. In this letter, we demonstrate that this morphology can be qualitatively reproduced by a hydrodynamic simulation of non-conservative Roche Lobe Overflow (RLOF) mass-loss into a cluster wind. Our model is based on a detailed binary evolution track consistent with key known properties of Wd1-72. Our work suggests Wd1-72 could be only ~10 kyr post-RLOF, and the hydrogen-free nature of Wd1-72 favours this being a second or subsequent RLOF episode. Follow-up observations could make Wd1-72 a valuable benchmark for probing mass-loss and mass-transfer in forming gravitational-wave binary-progenitor systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_21788 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | EWOCS-V: Is Wd1-72 a recent post-interaction WR+O binary? Larkin, C. J. K. Mackey, J. Jin, H. Sander, A. A. C. Reville, B. Anastasopoulou, K. Andersen, M. Bayo, A. Drake, J. J. Grebel, E. K. Guarcello, M. G. Haworth, T. J. Kalari, V. M. Lefever, R. R. Najarro, F. Ritchie, B. W. Sabbi, E. Solar and Stellar Astrophysics The evolutionary origin of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars at Solar metallicity is unclear. Single-star evolution from massive O stars, possibly via a Luminous Blue Variable phase, is challenged by binary period distributions of different WR subtypes. Wd1-72 is a WN7b+O binary embedded in the collective wind of the Galactic young massive cluster Westerlund 1 (Wd 1). It is surrounded by highly structured nebulosity, with cometary tails pointing away from Wd 1 and quasi-spherical droplets towards it. In this letter, we demonstrate that this morphology can be qualitatively reproduced by a hydrodynamic simulation of non-conservative Roche Lobe Overflow (RLOF) mass-loss into a cluster wind. Our model is based on a detailed binary evolution track consistent with key known properties of Wd1-72. Our work suggests Wd1-72 could be only ~10 kyr post-RLOF, and the hydrogen-free nature of Wd1-72 favours this being a second or subsequent RLOF episode. Follow-up observations could make Wd1-72 a valuable benchmark for probing mass-loss and mass-transfer in forming gravitational-wave binary-progenitor systems. |
| title | EWOCS-V: Is Wd1-72 a recent post-interaction WR+O binary? |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.21788 |