Wolf-Rayet stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud: I. Analysis of the single WN stars

Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars have a severe impact on their environments owing to their strong ionizing radiation fields and powerful stellar winds. Since these winds are considered to be driven by radiation pressure, it is theoretically expected that the degree of the wind mass-loss depends on the initial metallicity of WR stars. Following our comprehensive studies of WR stars in the Milky Way, M31, and the LMC, we derive stellar parameters and mass-loss rates for all seven putatively single WN stars known in the SMC. Based on these data, we discuss the impact of a low-metallicity environment on the mass loss and evolution of WR stars. The quantitative analysis of the WN stars is performed with the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) model atmosphere code. The physical properties of our program stars are obtained from fitting synthetic spectra to multi-band observations. In all SMC WN stars, a considerable surface hydrogen abundance is detectable. The majority of these objects have stellar temperatures exceeding 75 kK, while their luminosities range from 10^5.5 to 10^6.1 Lsun. The WN stars in the SMC exhibit on average lower mass-loss rates and weaker winds than their counterparts in the Milky Way, M31, and the LMC. By comparing the mass-loss rates derived for WN stars in different Local Group galaxies, we conclude that a clear dependence of the wind mass-loss on the initial metallicity is evident, supporting the current paradigm that WR winds are driven by radiation. A metallicity effect on the evolution of massive stars is obvious from the HRD positions of the SMC WN stars at high temperatures and high luminosities. Standard evolution tracks are not able to reproduce these parameters and the observed surface hydrogen abundances. Homogeneous evolution might provide a better explanation for their evolutionary past.Comment: 18+12 pages; 22+8 figures; accepted for publication in A&

Weak magnetic fields in central stars of planetary nebulae?

It is not yet clear whether magnetic fields play an essential role in shaping planetary nebulae (PNe), or whether stellar rotation alone and/or a close binary companion can account for the variety of the observed nebular morphologies. In a quest for empirical evidence verifying or disproving the role of magnetic fields in shaping PNe, we follow up on previous attempts to measure the magnetic field in a representative sample of PN central stars. We obtained low-resolution polarimetric spectra with FORS 2 at VLT for a sample of twelve bright central stars of PNe with different morphology, including two round nebulae, seven elliptical nebulae, and three bipolar nebulae. Two targets are Wolf-Rayet type central stars. For the majority of the observed central stars, we do not find any significant evidence for the existence of surface magnetic fields. However, our measurements may indicate the presence of weak mean longitudinal magnetic fields of the order of 100 Gauss in the central star of the young elliptical planetary nebula IC 418, as well as in the Wolf-Rayet type central star of the bipolar nebula Hen2-113 and the weak emission line central star of the elliptical nebula Hen2-131. A clear detection of a 250 G mean longitudinal field is achieved for the A-type companion of the central star of NGC 1514. Some of the central stars show a moderate night-to-night spectrum variability, which may be the signature of a variable stellar wind and/or rotational modulation due to magnetic features. We conclude that strong magnetic fields of the order of kG are not widespread among PNe central stars. Nevertheless, simple estimates based on a theoretical model of magnetized wind bubbles suggest that even weak magnetic fields below the current detection limit of the order of 100 G may well be sufficient to contribute to the shaping of PNe throughout their evolution.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&A; References updated, minor correction

The Wolf-Rayet binaries of the nitrogen sequence in the Large Magellanic Cloud: spectroscopy, orbital analysis, formation, and evolution

Massive Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars dominate the radiative and mechanical energy budget of galaxies and probe a critical phase in the evolution of massive stars prior to core-collapse. It is not known whether core He-burning WR stars (classical WR, cWR) form predominantly through wind-stripping (w-WR) or binary stripping (b-WR). With spectroscopy of WR binaries so-far largely avoided due to its complexity, our study focuses on the 44 WR binaries / binary candidates of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC, metallicity Z~0.5 Zsun), identified on the basis of radial velocity variations, composite spectra, or high X-ray luminosities. Relying on a diverse spectroscopic database, we aim to derive the physical and orbital parameters of our targets, confronting evolution models of evolved massive stars at sub-solar metallicity, and constraining the impact of binary interaction in forming them. Spectroscopy is performed using the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) code and cross-correlation techniques. Disentanglement is performed using the code Spectangular or the shift-and-add algorithm. Evolutionary status is interpreted using the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) code, exploring binary interaction and chemically-homogeneous evolution. No obvious dichotomy in the locations of apparently-single and binary WN stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is apparent. According to commonly used stellar evolution models (BPASS, Geneva), most apparently-single WN stars could not have formed as single stars, implying that they were stripped by an undetected companion. Otherwise, it must follow that pre-WR mass-loss/mixing (e.g., during the red supergiant phase) are strongly underestimated in standard stellar evolution models.Comment: accepted to A&A on 10.05.2019; 69 pages (25 main paper + 44 appendix); Corrigendum: Shenar et al. 2020, A&A, 641, 2: An unfortunate typo in the implementation of the "transformed radius" caused errors of up to ~0.5dex in the derived mass-loss rates. This has now been correcte

Abyssal fauna of the UK-1 polymetallic nodule exploration area, Clarion-Clipperton Zone, central Pacific Ocean: Mollusca

The file attached is the Published/publisher’s pdf version of the article. This is an OpenAccess article.Copyright Helena Wiklund et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

A " high 4 He/ 3 He " mantle material detected under the East Pacific Rise (15°4′N)

International audienceWe investigate in details helium isotope data reported in Mougel et al. (2014) for 14 basaltic samples collected on the East Pacific Rise by submersible (15°4′N) where the ridge interacts with the Mathematician seamounts. Samples locations are separated by only few hundred meters across a 15 km along-axis profile. The data reveal a strong geochemical variability that has never been observed at such high spatial resolution for helium isotope compositions. Moreover, they reveal an unusually high 4 He/ 3 He mantle component also characterized by unradiogenic lead, atypical in oceanic basalts. He-Pb systematics suggests a mixture between a nonradiogenic lead and radiogenic helium pyroxenitic component, recycled from the deep continental lithosphere and the ambient peridotitic mantle. The He isotope difference between these two end-members can be interpreted as a time evolution of two distinct mantle sources after a slight (U + Th)/ 3 He fractionation, likely due to some ancient degassing during the formation of deep continental pyroxenites

Fabrication of Large Domain YBa2Cu3O(x) for Magnetic Suspension Applications

Large domain YBa2Cu3O(x) levitators have been fabricated using a seeded melt processing technique. Depending upon the seed, either a single or five domained sample can be obtained. The grain boundaries separating each domains in the five domain levitator are found to be 90 degrees. Similar levitation forces can be observed for single and five domained samples. After thermal cycling, however, a small decrease in the levitation force of the five domain levitator was observed as a function of thermal cycles while nearly no change in force was observed in the single domain levitator. Finally, it is shown that both, single and five domain YBCO, behave similarly as a function of sample thickness

PoWR grids of non-LTE model atmospheres for OB-type stars of various metallicities

The study of massive stars in different metallicity environments is a central topic of current stellar research. The spectral analysis of massive stars requires adequate model atmospheres. The computation of such models is difficult and time-consuming. Therefore, spectral analyses are greatly facilitated if they can refer to existing grids of models. Here we provide grids of model atmospheres for OB-type stars at metallicities corresponding to the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, as well as to solar metallicity. In total, the grids comprise 785 individual models. The models were calculated using the state-of-the-art Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) model atmosphere code. The parameter domain of the grids was set up using stellar evolution tracks. For all these models, we provide normalized and flux-calibrated spectra, spectral energy distributions, feedback parameters such as ionizing photons, Zanstra temperatures, and photometric magnitudes. The atmospheric structures (the density and temperature stratification) are available as well. All these data are publicly accessible through the PoWR website.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic