Abstract
The stellar winds of hot early-type stars are characterised spectroscopically by the presence of P-Cygni profiles, which are most marked for resonance transitions of common ions and generally occur in the UV, and typical resonance lines of SiIV, CIV, NV and OVI are well known P-Cygni signatures of stellar winds in luminous OB stars. Analyses of these profiles can lead to important information concerning the velocity, density and temperature structure of such winds. The WR stars have more developed stellar winds than OB stars, supporting higher particle densities at larger distances from the stellar “photosphere”. Recently Barlow, Smith & Willis, hereinafter BSW, (1980), have derived reliable mass loss rates for 2 1 WR stars. The mean value is 4x10-5 MQ/y and the rates are considerably larger than can be accomodated by soley radiative models. The, as yet unidentified, mechanism initiating the WR mass loss may also be important for Of stars (Lamers 1980). A determination of the properties of the WR stellar winds will provide diagnostics which might aid in identifying the mass loss mechanism, and P-Cygni profiles form one important data source for this purpose. With the advent of IUE many WR stars have become accessible to high resolution UV spectroscopy for the first time, and this paper briefly reports a first analysis of the UV (and visible) P-Cygni profiles observed in 10 WR stars. A more extensive treatment covering the full results for each star will appear in Monthly Notices.
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Willis, A.J. (1981). The Velocity Characteristics of WR Stellar Winds. In: Chiosi, C., Stalio, R. (eds) Effects of Mass Loss on Stellar Evolution. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 89. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8500-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8500-1_3
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