1 research outputs found
Episodic mass loss in binary evolution to the Wolf-Rayet phase: Keck and HST proper motions of RY Scuti's nebula
Binary mass transfer via Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF) is a key channel for
producing stripped-envelope Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and may be critical to
account for SN Ib/c progenitors. RY Scuti is an extremely rare example of a
massive binary star caught in this brief but important phase. Its toroidal
nebula indicates equatorial mass loss during RLOF, while the mass-gaining star
is apparently embedded in an opaque accretion disk. RY Scuti's toroidal nebula
has two components: an inner ionised double-ring system, and an outer dust
torus that is twice the size of the ionised rings. We present two epochs of
Lband Keck NGS-AO images of the dust torus, plus three epochs of HST images of
the ionised gas rings. Proper motions show that the inner ionised rings and the
outer dust torus came from two separate ejection events roughly 130 and 250 yr
ago. This suggests that RLOF in massive contact binaries can be accompanied by
eruptive and episodic burst of mass loss, reminiscent of LBVs. We speculate
that the repeating outbursts may arise in the mass gainer from instabilities
associated with a high accretion rate. If discrete mass-loss episodes in other
RLOF binaries are accompanied by luminous outbursts, they might contribute to
the population of extragalactic optical transients. When RLOF ends for RY
Scuti, the overluminous mass gainer, currently surrounded by an accretion disk,
will probably become a B[e] supergiant and may outshine the hotter mass-donor
star that should die as a Type Ib/c supernova.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRA