Wolf-Rayet stars: recent advances and persisting problems

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress and ongoing challenges in understanding Wolf-Rayet stars, focusing on their evolution, wind physics, and the discrepancies between models and observations, especially at subsolar metallicity.

Contribution

It highlights the gaps in current stellar evolution models for Wolf-Rayet stars and discusses future observational and theoretical directions.

Findings

Current models fail to match observed WR star properties.

Discrepancies are more severe at subsolar metallicity.

Next-generation models and observations are needed for progress.

Abstract

Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars comprise a class of stars whose spectra are dominated by strong, broad emission lines that are associated with copious mass loss. In the massive-star regime, roughly 90% of the known WR stars are thought to have evolved off the main sequence. Dubbed classical WR (cWR) stars, these hydrogen-depleted objects represent a crucial evolutionary phase preceding core collapse into black holes, and offer a unique window into hot-star wind physics. Their formation is thought to be rooted in either intrinsic mass-loss or binary interactions. Results obtained from analyses using contemporary model atmospheres still fail to reconcile the derived properties of WR stars with predictions from stellar evolution. Importantly, stellar evolution models cannot reproduce the the bulk of cWR stars, a problem that becomes especially severe at subsolar metallicity. Next-generation model atmospheres and upcoming observational campaigns to hunt for undetected companions promise a venue for progress.