Radio detections of IR-selected runaway stellar bow shocks

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of multiple radio-emitting bow shocks from IR-selected runaway stars, expanding the known sample and exploring their emission mechanisms using recent radio survey data.

Contribution

First systematic search for radio counterparts of IR-detected bow shocks, increasing known radio bow shocks and analyzing their emission properties.

Findings

Detected 3 confident and 3 likely radio bow shocks

Identified a mix of free-free and synchrotron emission mechanisms

Provided constraints on non-detected targets' emission properties

Abstract

Massive stars moving at supersonic peculiar velocities through the interstellar medium (ISM) can create bow shocks, arc-like structures at the interface between the stellar wind and the ISM. Many such bow shocks have been detected and catalogued at IR wavelengths, but detections in other wavebands remain rare. Strikingly, while electrons are expected to be accelerated in the bow shock and their non-thermal emission may include synchrotron emission at low frequencies, only two massive runaway stellar bow shocks have to date been detected in the radio band. Here, we examine a sample of fifty IR-detected bow shocks from the E-BOSS catalogues in recently released radio images from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS). We identify three confident and three likely counterparts, as well as three inconclusive candidates requiring confirmation via follow-up observations. These detections significantly increase the number of known radio massive stellar bow shocks and highlight the advantage of dedicated searches with current and next-generation radio telescopes. We investigate the underlying radio emission mechanism for these radio sources, finding a mix of free-free-dominated and synchrotron-dominated systems. We also discuss the non-detected targets by putting constraints on their emission properties and investigating their detectability with future observations. Finally, we propose several future avenues of research to advance the study and understanding of bow shocks at radio frequencies.