Imaging "Pinwheel"nebulae with optical long-baseline interferometry

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential of optical long-baseline interferometry to directly image 'pinwheel' nebulae around dusty Wolf-Rayet stars, exemplified by the possible detection around WR118, and explores its application to other similar stars.

Contribution

It demonstrates the feasibility of using interferometry to resolve and study 'pinwheel' nebulae around WC9d stars, advancing observational capabilities in this area.

Findings

Possible detection of a 'pinwheel' nebula around WR118.

Interferometry can resolve dust structures around Wolf-Rayet stars.

Potential to identify more 'pinwheel' nebulae in similar stars.

Abstract

Dusty Wolf-Rayet stars are few but remarkable in terms of dust production rates (up to one millionth of solar mass per year). Infrared excesses associated to mass-loss are found in the sub-types WC8 and WC9. Few WC9d stars are hosting a "pinwheel" nebula, indirect evidence of a companion star around the primary. While few other WC9d stars have a dust shell which has been barely resolved so far, the available angular resolution offered by single telescopes is insufficient to confirm if they also host "pinwheel" nebulae or not. In this article, we present the possible detection of such nebula around the star WR118. We discuss about the potential of interferometry to image more "pinwheel" nebulae around other WC9d stars.