Rotational properties of the O-type star population in the Tarantula region

Abstract

The 30 Doradus (30\,Dor) region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (also known as the Tarantula Nebula) is the nearest massive starburst region, containing the richest sample of massive stars in the Local Group. It is the best possible laboratory to investigate aspects of the formation and evolution of massive stars. Here, we focus on rotation which is a key parameter in the evolution of these objects. We establish the projected rotational velocity, $v_e\sin i$, distribution of an unprecedented sample of 216 radial velocity constant ($\mathrm{\Delta RV}\le 20\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$) O-type stars in 30\,Dor observed in the framework of the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS). The distribution of $v_e\sin i$ shows a two-component structure: a peak around 80 $\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ and a high-velocity tail extending up to $\sim$600 $\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. Around 75% of the sample has 0 $\le v_e\sin i\le$ 200 $\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ with the other 25% distributed in the high-velocity tail. The presence of the low-velocity peak is consistent with that found in other studies of late-O and early-B stars. The high-velocity tail is compatible with expectations from binary interaction synthesis models and may be predominantly populated by post-binary interaction, spun-up, objects and mergers. This may have important implications for the nature of progenitors of long-duration gamma ray bursts.

arXiv comment4 pages, 1 figure. Conference proceedings article: Massive stars: from alpha to Omega, 10-14 June 2013, Rhodes, Greece