The Galactic Centre Source IRS 13E: a Post-LBV Wolf-Rayet Colliding Wind Binary?

Abstract

IRS 13E is an infrared, mm and X-ray source in the Galactic Centre. We present the first Chandra X-ray spectrum for IRS 13E and show that it is consistent with a luminous and highly absorbed X-ray binary system. Since the X-ray luminosity is too large for a solitary star, our interpretation is that of an early-type long-period binary with strong colliding winds emission. This naturally explains the observed X-ray spectrum and count rate as well as its lack of significant short term variability. Due to the short lifetime of any nebula 0.2 pc from the putative central super-massive black-hole, we argue that the primary of IRS 13E has exited the LBV phase in the last few thousand years.

6 pages, 1 figure, accepted by A&A

References in corpus (3)

• Rapid X-ray flaring from the direction of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Centre
• The Supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center
• Early Chandra X-ray Observations of Eta Carinae

Cited by in corpus (12)

• The Galactic Center Massive Black Hole and Nuclear Star Cluster
• Chandra X-ray Spectroscopic Imaging of Sgr A* and the Central Parsec of the Galaxy
• The nature of the Galactic Center source IRS 13 revealed by high spatial resolution in the infrared
• Near-infrared proper motions and spectroscopy of infrared excess sources at the Galactic Center
• The Conspicuous Absence of X-ray Emission from Carbon-Enriched Wolf-Rayet Stars
• A Black Hole in the Galactic Center Complex IRS 13E?
• X-ray Observations of Stellar Clusters Near the Galactic Center
• GC-IRS13E - A puzzling association of three early-type stars
• IRS 13N: a new comoving group of sources at the Galactic Center
• Galactic Center IRS13E: Colliding Stellar Winds or an Intermediate Mass Black Hole?
• Colliding Winds in and around the Stellar Group IRS 13E at the Galactic Center
• The Discovery of Radio Stars within 10 arcseconds of Sgr A* at 7mm