The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone
We report the first measurement of the orbital period of a long-period colliding-wind-binary system Wolf–Rayet (WR) 146, derived by tracing the rotational morphology of its wind-colliding region (WCR) and the relative orientation of the two binary components. This result is based on our imaging obse...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adba57 |
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| author | Shiming Wen Bo Zhang Shuangjing Xu Yan Sun Xiaofeng Mai Jingdong Zhang Lang Cui Xiaofeng Li Helge Todt Xi Yan Pengfei Jiang |
| author_facet | Shiming Wen Bo Zhang Shuangjing Xu Yan Sun Xiaofeng Mai Jingdong Zhang Lang Cui Xiaofeng Li Helge Todt Xi Yan Pengfei Jiang |
| author_sort | Shiming Wen |
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| description | We report the first measurement of the orbital period of a long-period colliding-wind-binary system Wolf–Rayet (WR) 146, derived by tracing the rotational morphology of its wind-colliding region (WCR) and the relative orientation of the two binary components. This result is based on our imaging observations using the very-long-baseline array (VLBA) and the European Very-long-baseline-interferometry Network (EVN), combined with archival data from VLBA, EVN, the Very Large Array, the enhanced Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network arrays, and optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope. We evaluated two methods for determining the binary’s orbital period based on the images of the WCR: (i) fitting the shock cone of the WCR and (ii) stacking images using the cross-correlation function. Using these techniques, we find orbital period estimates of 810 ${}_{-90}^{+120}$ yr from method I and 1120 ${}_{-270}^{+540}$ yr from method II, both of which support a long orbital period of approximately 1000 yr. Furthermore, we analyzed archival spectral data of WR 146 to estimate the stellar wind velocities of the binary components, finding no significant orbital phase lag between the binary orientation and the WCR rotation. We also estimate the range of the binary’s mass using the currently measured parameters. |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| spelling | doaj-art-a3374df6e98d4120a24e2207f64d371e2025-08-20T02:40:56ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169421810.3847/1538-3881/adba57The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock ConeShiming Wen0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1361-4825Bo Zhang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1353-9040Shuangjing Xu2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2953-6442Yan Sun3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8604-5394Xiaofeng Mai4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7573-0145Jingdong Zhang5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9768-2700Lang Cui6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0721-5509Xiaofeng Li7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9093-6296Helge Todt8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9684-3074Xi Yan9https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6680-1628Pengfei Jiang10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3166-5657Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road Xuhui, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China ; zb@shao.ac.cn; Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 150 Science 1 Street Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People’s Republic of China ; cuilang@xao.ac.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No.19(A) Yuquan Road Shijingshan, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road Xuhui, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China ; zb@shao.ac.cnShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road Xuhui, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China ; zb@shao.ac.cn; Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , 776 Daedeok-daero Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34055, Republic of KoreaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road Xuhui, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China ; zb@shao.ac.cnShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road Xuhui, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China ; zb@shao.ac.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No.19(A) Yuquan Road Shijingshan, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road Xuhui, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China ; zb@shao.ac.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No.19(A) Yuquan Road Shijingshan, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaXinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 150 Science 1 Street Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People’s Republic of China ; cuilang@xao.ac.cn; Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology (Chinese Academy of Sciences) , A20 Datun Road Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Radio Astrophysics , 150 Science 1 Street, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Changzhou Institute of Technology , Changzhou, Jiangsu 213032, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam , Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, D-14476 Potsdam, GermanyXinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 150 Science 1 Street Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People’s Republic of China ; cuilang@xao.ac.cnXinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 150 Science 1 Street Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, People’s Republic of China ; cuilang@xao.ac.cnWe report the first measurement of the orbital period of a long-period colliding-wind-binary system Wolf–Rayet (WR) 146, derived by tracing the rotational morphology of its wind-colliding region (WCR) and the relative orientation of the two binary components. This result is based on our imaging observations using the very-long-baseline array (VLBA) and the European Very-long-baseline-interferometry Network (EVN), combined with archival data from VLBA, EVN, the Very Large Array, the enhanced Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network arrays, and optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope. We evaluated two methods for determining the binary’s orbital period based on the images of the WCR: (i) fitting the shock cone of the WCR and (ii) stacking images using the cross-correlation function. Using these techniques, we find orbital period estimates of 810 ${}_{-90}^{+120}$ yr from method I and 1120 ${}_{-270}^{+540}$ yr from method II, both of which support a long orbital period of approximately 1000 yr. Furthermore, we analyzed archival spectral data of WR 146 to estimate the stellar wind velocities of the binary components, finding no significant orbital phase lag between the binary orientation and the WCR rotation. We also estimate the range of the binary’s mass using the currently measured parameters.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adba57Wolf-Rayet starsNon-thermal radiation sourcesVisual binary starsStellar windsOrbitsRadio continuum emission |
| spellingShingle | Shiming Wen Bo Zhang Shuangjing Xu Yan Sun Xiaofeng Mai Jingdong Zhang Lang Cui Xiaofeng Li Helge Todt Xi Yan Pengfei Jiang The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone The Astronomical Journal Wolf-Rayet stars Non-thermal radiation sources Visual binary stars Stellar winds Orbits Radio continuum emission |
| title | The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone |
| title_full | The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone |
| title_fullStr | The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone |
| title_short | The Orbital Period of the Long-period and Colliding-wind Binary WR 146 from Radio Interferometry of the Shock Cone |
| title_sort | orbital period of the long period and colliding wind binary wr 146 from radio interferometry of the shock cone |
| topic | Wolf-Rayet stars Non-thermal radiation sources Visual binary stars Stellar winds Orbits Radio continuum emission |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adba57 |
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