The magnetic, spectroscopic, and photometric variability of the Wolf-Rayet star WR55

Abstract

Studies of magnetic fields in the most evolved massive stars, the Wolf-Rayet stars, are of special importance because they are progenitors of certain types of supernovae. The first detection of a magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss in the WN7 star WR55, based on a few FORS2 low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations, was reported in 2020. In this work we present new FORS2 observations allowing us to detect magnetic and spectroscopic variability with a period of 11.90 h. No significant frequencies were detected in TESS and ASAS-SN photometric observations. Importantly, magnetic field detections are achieved currently only in two Wolf-Rayet stars, WR6 and WR55, both showing the presence of corotating interacting regions.

Accepted to be published in MNRAS Letters

References in corpus (17)

• The Gaia mission
• The All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) Light Curve Server v1.0
• The Galactic WN stars: Spectral analyses with line-blanketed model atmospheres versus stellar evolution models with and without rotation
• The MiMeS survey of magnetism in massive stars: Magnetic analysis of the O-type stars
• Low-frequency gravity waves in blue supergiants revealed by high-precision space photometry
• The Galactic WN stars revisited. Impact of Gaia distances on fundamental stellar parameters
• Three-Dimensional Simulations of Massive Stars: I. Wave Generation and Propagation
• B fields in OB stars (BOB): Concluding the FORS2 observing campaign
• MOST detects corotating bright spots on the mid-O type giant ξ Persei
• Pre-collapse Properties of Superluminous Supernovae and Long Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor Models
• Linear spectropolarimetry of polarimetric standard stars with VLT/FORS2
• Red noise and pulsations in evolved massive stars
• The pulsating magnetosphere of the extremely slowly rotating magnetic $\beta$ Cep star ${\xi }^1$ CMa
• The search for magnetic fields in two Wolf-Rayet stars and the discovery of a variable magnetic field in WR55
• Are magnetic fields universal in O-type multiple systems?
• Multiple variability time-scales of the early nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet star WR7
• Radio Variability from Co-Rotating Interaction Regions Threading Wolf-Rayet Winds

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Stripped-Envelope Supernovae for QCD Axion Detection
• Axions at the meV Crossroads: Theory, Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Experiments