Dust in RCW 58: clues to common envelope channel formation?

Abstract

We present a characterization of the dust in the Wolf-Rayet (WR) nebula RCW 58 around the WN8h star WR 40 using archival infrared (IR) observations from WISE and Herschel and radio observations from ATCA. We selected two clumps, free from contamination from material along the line of sight and located towards southern regions in RCW 58, as representative of the general properties of this WR nebula. Their optical, IR and radio properties are then modelled using the photoionization code Cloudy, which calculates a self-consistent spatial distribution of dust and gas properties. Two populations of dust grains are required to model the IR SED: a population of small grains with sizes 0.002-0.01 $\mu$m, which is found throughout the clumps, and a population of large grains, with sizes up to 0.9 $\mu$m, located further from the star. Moreover, the clumps have very high dust-to-gas ratios, which present a challenge for their origin. Our model supports the hypothesis that RCW 58 is distributed in a ring-like structure rather than a shell, and we estimate a mass of $\sim$2.5 M${}_{\odot }$. This suggests that the mass of the progenitor of WR 40 was about $\approx 40_{-3}^{+2}$ M${}_{\odot }$. The ring morphology, low nebular mass, large dust grain size and high dust-to-gas ratio lead us to propose that RCW 58 has formed through a common envelope channel, similar to what has been proposed for M 1-67.

arXiv comment17 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables; accepted to MNRAS

References in corpus (44)

• Interstellar Dust Grains
• Grids of stellar models with rotation - I. Models from 0.8 to 120 Msun at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014)
• Physical Properties of Wolf-Rayet Stars
• PyNeb: a new tool for analyzing emission lines. I. Code description and validation of results
• The Aao/Ukst Supercosmos H-alpha Survey (SHS)
• The Galactic WN stars: Spectral analyses with line-blanketed model atmospheres versus stellar evolution models with and without rotation
• Grids of stellar models with rotation II. WR populations and supernovae/GRB progenitors at Z = 0.014
• On Radiation Pressure in Static, Dusty HII Regions
• Ionization Correction Factors for Planetary Nebulae: I- Using optical spectra
• The expansion of stripped-envelope stars: consequences for supernovae and gravitational-wave progenitors
• Shattering and coagulation of dust grains in interstellar turbulence
• The Galactic WN stars revisited. Impact of Gaia distances on fundamental stellar parameters
• Dust in the diffuse interstellar medium: Extinction, emission, linear and circular polarisation
• On the role of the WNH phase in the evolution of very massive stars: Enabling the LBV instability with feedback
• Dust survival rates in clumps passing through the Cas A reverse shock I: results for a range of clump densities
• The Astrophysical Implications of Dust Formation During The Eruptions of Hot, Massive Stars
• Unlocking Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars with $\text{Gaia}$ DR2 I: Distances and absolute magnitudes
• The Dynamics, Destruction, and Survival of Supernova-Formed Dust Grains
• Explosive Common-Envelope Ejection: Implications for Gamma-Ray Bursts and Low-Mass Black-Hole Binaries
• A Morphological Diagnostic for Dynamical Evolution of Wolf-Rayet Bubbles
• Shock-multicloud interactions in galactic outflows -- II. Radiative fractal clouds and cold gas thermodynamics
• A search for Ejecta Nebulae around Wolf-Rayet Stars using the SHS H$\alpha$ survey
• The turbulent destruction of clouds - III. Three dimensional adiabatic shock-cloud simulations
• $\eta$ Carinae's Dusty Homunculus Nebula from Near-Infrared to Submillimeter Wavelengths: Mass, Composition, and Evidence for Fading Opacity
• Properties of the post in-spiral common envelope ejecta II: dust formation
• WISE morphological study of Wolf-Rayet nebulae
• Shock-multicloud interactions in galactic outflows -- I. Cloud layers with log-normal density distributions
• Numerical simulations of shocks encountering clumpy regions
• The chemical composition of Galactic ring nebulae around massive stars
• The spectroscopic properties of the nebulae around seven Galactic and LMC Wolf-Rayet stars
• On massive dust clumps in the envelope of the red supergiant VY Canis Majoris
• Helium abundances and its radial gradient from the spectra of HII regions and ring nebulae of the Milky Way
• The chemistry of dust formation in red supergiants
• Modeling dust emission in PN IC 418
• Bow shocks, bow waves, and dust waves. II. Beyond the rip point
• The chaotic wind of WR 40 as probed by BRITE
• On the apparent absence of WR+NS systems: the curious case of WR124
• Evolution of dust porosity through coagulation and shattering in the interstellar medium
• A comparison of shock-cloud and wind-cloud interactions: effect of increased cloud density contrast on cloud evolution
• Optical properties of non-stoichiometric amorphous silicates with application to circumstellar dust extinction
• Unveiling the stellar origin of the Wolf-Rayet nebula NGC6888 through infrared observations
• Dust in the Wolf-Rayet Nebula M1-67
• Local Group surveys for Planetary Nebulae
• Are peculiar Wolf-Rayet Stars of type WN8 Thorne-Zytkow Objects?

Cited by in corpus (3)

• 3D mapping of the Wolf-Rayet nebula M1-67: clues for post-common envelope evolution in massive stars
• Planetary nebulae with Wolf-Rayet-type central stars -- IV. NGC 1501 and its mixing layer
• Planetary nebulae with Wolf-Rayet-type central stars -- III. A detailed view of NGC 6905 and its central star