Discovery of the Earliest-Type Oe Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This study identifies the earliest-type Oe stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, showing that low metallicity environments favor the formation of more and earlier spectral type Oe stars, supporting the decretion disk model.

Contribution

First identification of early-type Oe stars in the SMC, demonstrating higher Oe star fractions in low-metallicity environments compared to the Milky Way.

Findings

20-28% of SMC field O stars are Oe stars.

Discovery of 5-7 Oe stars with spectral types O5.5e to O7e.

No early-type Oe stars previously identified in the Milky Way.

Abstract

No classical Oe/Be stars with spectral type earlier than O7.5e have been identified to date in the Milky Way (MW). This is consistent with the decretion disk model because strong stellar winds cause early-type O stars to lose angular momentum, thereby preventing them from rotating fast enough to spin out decretion disks. How- ever, metal-poor O stars have weaker stellar winds, allowing the stars to retain angular momentum. Therefore, low-metallicity environments should promote the formation of Oe stars, including those of earlier spectral types than observed in high-metallicity en- vironments. Using the RIOTS4 survey, a spatially complete spectroscopic survey of Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) field OB stars taken with the IMACS multi-slit spec- trograph at the Magellan Baade Telescope, we identify 25-31 SMC field Oe stars, which account for 20-28% of SMC field O stars. This fraction is significantly higher than in the MW, where < 10-15% of O stars display the Be phenomenon. We also present 5-7 Oe stars of spectral type ranging from O5.5e to O7e, all earlier spectral types than the earliest MW Oe star. These early type Oe stars represent 20-23% of our SMC Oe stars, a dramatic increase compared to the MW, where no Oe stars have been identified with these early spectral types. Thus, the higher frequencies of Oe stars and their earlier spectral range in the metal-poor SMC are consistent with the decretion disk model.