2025AJ....170..218M


Query : 2025AJ....170..218M

2025AJ....170..218M - Astron. J., 170, 218 (2025/October-0)

Revealing the Accelerating Wind in the Inner Region of Colliding-wind Binary WR 112.

MONNIER J.D., HAN Y., CORCORAN M.F., BLOOT S., CALLINGHAM J.R., DANCHI W., EDWARDS P.G., GREENHILL L., HAMAGUCHI K., HANKINS M.J., LAU R., MILLER J.M., MOFFAT A.F.J., RUANE G., RUSSELL C.M.P., SOULAIN A., TINYANONT S., TUTHILL P., WANG J.J. and WILLIAMS P.M.

Abstract (from CDS):

Colliding winds in massive binaries generate X-ray-bright shocks, synchrotron radio emission, and sometimes even dusty “pinwheel” spirals. We report the first X-ray detections of the dusty WC+O binary system WR 112 from Chandra and Swift, alongside 27 yr of Very Large Array/Australia Telescope Compact Array radio monitoring and new diffraction-limited Keck images. Because we view the nearly circular orbit almost edge-on, the colliding-wind zone alternates between heavy Wolf-Rayet wind self-absorption and near-transparent O-star wind foreground each 20 yr orbit, producing phase-locked radio and X-ray variability. This scenario leads to a prediction that the radio spectral index is flatter from a larger nonthermal contribution around the radio intensity maximum, which indeed was observed. Existing models that assume a single dust-expansion speed fail to reproduce the combined infrared (IR) geometry and radio light curve. Instead, we require an accelerating postshock flow that climbs from near-stationary to ∼1350 km s–1 in about one orbital cycle, naturally matching the IR spiral from 5″ down to within 0$\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x02033}}$1, while also fitting the phase of the radio brightening. These kinematic constraints supply critical boundary conditions for future hydrodynamic simulations, which can link hot-plasma cooling, nonthermal radio emission, X-ray spectra, and dust formation in a self-consistent framework. WR 112 thus joins WR 140, WR 104, and WR 70-16 (Apep) as a benchmark system for testing colliding-wind physics under an increasingly diverse range of orbital architectures and physical conditions.

Abstract Copyright: © 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Wolf-Rayet stars - Stellar winds - WC stars - Circumstellar dust - High energy astrophysics - Close binary stars

Status at CDS : Large table(s) will be appraised for possible ingestion in VizieR.

Simbad objects: 16

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Number of rows : 16
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA
ICRS (J2000)
DEC
Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026
#notes
1 * gam02 Vel WR* 08 09 31.95013 -47 20 11.7108 0.64 1.58 1.83 1.85 2.00 WC8+O7.5III-V 951 0
2 3C 286 Sy1 13 31 08.2883506368 +30 30 32.960091564   17.51 17.25     ~ 4558 2
3 AX J1600.9-5142 WR* 16 00 50.47872 -51 42 44.9784           WC8+WN4-6b 27 1
4 QSO B1730-130 Bla 17 33 02.70578907 -13 04 49.5482119   18 19.50 18.78 17.39 ~ 1198 1
5 WR 98a WR* 17 41 13.0411858104 -30 32 30.409373688   18.40   15.20 13.82 WC8/9 112 1
6 HD 162885 * 17 53 58.8840595992 -17 24 44.588618136   10.04 8.36     K2/3III 13 0
7 MR 80 WR* 18 02 04.1244400656 -23 37 42.168277056   15.002 13.155 12.056   WC9 241 1
8 WR 112 WR* 18 16 33.4909366272 -18 58 42.341845368   20.7 17.7     WC8+O6/7III/V 143 0
9 QSO J1820-2528 QSO 18 20 57.84869964 -25 28 12.5840414   18.56       ~ 115 1
10 HD 180732 * 19 18 20.5413540000 -18 27 45.380340828   10.49 8.84     K5III 13 0
11 HD 181681 * 19 19 37.8396504192 +40 16 01.786390068   8.87 7.30     K4III 17 0
12 QSO B1921-293 BLL 19 24 51.05595254 -29 14 30.1210248   18.71 18.21 15.07   ~ 918 1
13 ICRF J193925.0-634245 Sy2 19 39 25.0245304992 -63 42 45.640373400   18.87 18.37 17.64   ~ 1332 2
14 HD 193793 WR* 20 20 27.9757908696 +43 51 16.286840244 6.90 7.25 6.85 4.58   WC7pd+O5.5fc 754 0
15 HD 194479 * 20 24 05.6058127872 +44 42 03.897725292   8.55 7.45     K1III-IV 19 0
16 HD 194450 * 20 24 48.1171820304 +26 07 37.609218408   8.33 7.14     K1III 13 0

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