An extensive spectroscopic time-series of three Wolf-Rayet stars. I. The lifetime of large-scale structures in the wind of WR 134

TL;DR

This study presents a detailed four-month spectroscopic analysis of WR 134, revealing the lifetime, number, and properties of large-scale wind structures called CIRs, and their coexistence with smaller structures, refining understanding of Wolf-Rayet stellar winds.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of CIR lifetime and confirms the presence of multiple CIRs with specific geometrical configurations in WR 134's wind.

Findings

CIR lifetime estimated at 40 ± 6 days

Two CIRs likely present with 90° separation

Detection of small-scale structures co-existing with CIRs

Abstract

During the summer of 2013, a 4-month spectroscopic campaign took place to observe the variabilities in three Wolf-Rayet stars. The spectroscopic data have been analyzed for WR 134 (WN6b), to better understand its behaviour and long-term periodicity, which we interpret as arising from corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the wind. By analyzing the variability of the He II $\lambda$5411 emission line, the previously identified period was refined to P = 2.255 $\pm$ 0.008 (s.d.) days. The coherency time of the variability, which we associate with the lifetime of the CIRs in the wind, was deduced to be 40 $\pm$ 6 days, or $\sim$ 18 cycles, by cross-correlating the variability patterns as a function of time. When comparing the phased observational grayscale difference images with theoretical grayscales previously calculated from models including CIRs in an optically thin stellar wind, we find that two CIRs were likely present. A separation in longitude of $\Delta \phi \simeq$ 90$^{\circ}$ was determined between the two CIRs and we suggest that the different maximum velocities that they reach indicate that they emerge from different latitudes. We have also been able to detect observational signatures of the CIRs in other spectral lines (C IV $\lambda\lambda$5802,5812 and He I $\lambda$5876). Furthermore, a DAC was found to be present simultaneously with the CIR signatures detected in the He I $\lambda$5876 emission line which is consistent with the proposed geometry of the large-scale structures in the wind. Small-scale structures also show a presence in the wind, simultaneously with the larger scale structures, showing that they do in fact co-exist.