We report the discovery of weak yet hard X-ray emission from the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR 142 with the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope. Being of spectral subtype WO2, WR 142 is a massive star in a very advanced evolutionary stage shortly before its explosion as a supernova or gamma-ray burst. This is the first detection of X-ray emission from a WO-type star. We rule out any serendipitous X-ray sources within approximate to 1 '' of WR 142. WR 142 has an X-ray luminosity of L(X) approximate to 7 x 10(30) erg s(-1), which constitutes only less than or similar to 10(-8) of its bolometric luminosity. The hard X-ray spectrum suggests a plasma temperature of about 100 MK. Commonly, X-ray emission from stellar winds is attributed to embedded shocks due to the intrinsic instability of the radiation driving. From qualitative considerations we conclude that this mechanism cannot account for the hardness of the observed radiation. There are no hints for a binary companion. Therefore the only remaining, albeit speculative explanation must refer to magnetic activity. Possibly related, WR 142 seems to rotate extremely fast, as indicated by the unusually round profiles of its optical emission lines. Our detection implies that the wind of WR 142 must be relatively transparent to X-rays, which can be due to strong wind ionization, wind clumping, or nonspherical geometry from rapid rotation.

The hot star wind momentum problem eta = M-upsiloninfinity/(L/c) much greater than 1 is revisited, and it is shown that the conventional belief, that it can be solved by a combination of clumping of the wind and multiple scattering of photons, is not self-consistent for optically thick clumps. Clumping does reduce the mass loss rate. M, and hence the momentum supply, required to generate a specified radio emission measure epsilon, while multiple scattering increases the delivery of momentum from a specified stellar luminosity L. However, in the case of thick clumps, when combined the two effects act in opposition rather than in unison since clumping reduces multiple scattering. From basic geometric considerations, it is shown that this reduction in momentum delivery by clumping more than offsets the reduction in momentum required, for a specified epsilon. Thus the ratio of momentum deliverable to momentum required is maximal for a smooth wind and the momentum problem remains for the thick clump case. In the case of thin clumps, all of the benefit of clumping in reducing lies in eta reducing. M for a given epsilon so that extremely small filling factors f approximate to 10(-4) are needed. It is also shown that clumping affects the inference of M from radio epsilon not only by changing the emission measure per unit mass but also by changing the radio optical depth unity radius R-rad, and hence the observed wind volume, at radio wavelengths. In fact, for free-free opacity proportional to n(2), contrary to intuition, R-rad increases with increasing clumpiness.

We report on neon abundances derived from Spitzer high resolution spectral data of eight Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars using the forbidden line of [Ne III] 15.56 μm. Our targets include four WN stars of subtypes 4–7, and four WC stars of subtypes 4–7. We derive ion fraction abundances γ of Ne2+ for the winds of each star. The ion fraction abundance is a product of the ionization fraction Qi in stage i and the abundance by number AE of element E relative to all nuclei. Values generally consistent with solar are obtained for the WN stars, and values in excess of solar are obtained for the WC stars.

Ce mémoire détaille l'étude réalisée dans le milieu interstellaire environnant de quarante et une étoiles Wolf-Rayet récemment découvertes (Sharaet al. 2009), dans la Voie lactée. Les quarante et une étoile Wolf-Rayet, dont quinze sont de type WN et vingt-six sont de type WC, ont été analysées en utilisant des relevés d'observation obtenus grâce à différents instruments du domaine des ondes radio et de l'infrarouge. À la suite d'une analyse rigoureuse des étoiles étudiées, nous avons décidé de nous concentrer sur les six qui possédaient les paramètres physiques les plus précis. Les six candidates retenues sont : G298.6-0.14, G300.4-0.52, G303.4-0.72, G312.37-0.38, G318.82-0.48 et G321.95-0.19. Nous avons effectué une analyse spectrale de ces six objets pour les classifier selon leur émission thermique ou non thermique. Trois de ces objets ont déjà fait l'objet d'un rapport. Dans la présente étude, nous proposons de revenir sur ces six objets, mais de proposer une classification pour les trois autres (G298.6-0.14, G303.4-0.72 et GG312.37-0.38). Afin de comprendre davantage leur propriétés, nous les avons analysés en sous-regions. Nous avons réussi à classifier G303.4-0.72 comme un nouveau reste de supernova, et avons remarqué que G312.37-0.38 est composé d'un reste de supernova superposé avec une région thermique et G318.87 comme un nouvelle coquille identifiée autour d'une candidate WR. Une étude plus poussée est nécessaire afin de classifier plus adéquatement G298.6-0.14.

Ce mémoire s’intéresse au système binaire massif CV Serpentis, composé d’une Wolf- Rayet riche en carbone et d’une étoile de la séquence principale, de type spectral O (WC8d + O8-9IV). D’abord, certains phénomènes affectant les étoiles massives sont mentionnés, de leur passage sur la séquence principale à leur mort (supernova). Au cours du premier cha- pitre, un rappel est fait concernant certaines bases de l’astrophysique stellaire observa- tionnelle (diagramme Hertzsprung-Russell, phases évolutives, etc...). Au chapitre suivant, un des aspects les plus importants de la vie des étoiles massives est abordé : la perte de masse sous forme de vents stellaires. Un historique de la découverte des vents ouvre le chapitre, suivi des fondements théoriques permettant d’expliquer ce phénomène. Ensuite, différents aspects propres aux vents stellaires sont présentés. Au troisième chapitre, un historique détaillé de CV Ser est présenté en guise d’introduc- tion à cet objet singulier. Ses principales caractéristiques connues y sont mentionnées. Finalement, le cœur de ce mémoire se retrouve au chapitre 4. Des courbes de lumière ultra précises du satellite MOST (2009 et 2010) montrent une variation apparente du taux de perte de masse de la WR de l’ordre de 62% sur une période orbitale de 29.701 jours. L’analyse des résidus permet de trouver une signature suggérant la présence de régions d’interaction en corotation (en anglais corotating interaction regions, ou CIR) dans le vent WR. Une nouvelle solution orbitale est présentée ainsi que les paramètres de la région de collision des vents et les types spectraux sont confirmés. / This thesis focuses on the massive binary CV Serpentis, consisting of a carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet star and a main-sequence O-type star (WC8d + O8-9IV). First off, different phenomena linked to massive stars throughout their existence - from main sequence to the supernova explosion - are mentioned. The first chapter offers a brief overview of some of the basics of observational stellar astrophysics (Hertzsprung- Russell diagram, evolution, etc...). The next chapter covers one of the most important aspects of massive stars : mass loss through stellar winds. The chapter opens with a chronology of the discovery of stellar winds, followed by the foundations of stellar wind theory. Finally, different processes involved in wind ejection are presented. The third chapter reviews chronologically the main studies carried out on CV Ser and helps introduce this peculiar system. Its main characteristics are given in this chapter. Finally, chapter 4 is the central part of this work. MOST light curves taken in 2009 and 2010 show what appears to be a 62% increase of the mass-loss rate over one or- bital period (29.701d). There also seems to be evidence for the presence of corotating interaction regions (CIR) in the WR wind. Indeed, the analysis of the residuals yields a CIR-like signature. A new orbit is derived, as well as the wind-collision zone parame- ters, while the spectral types of both stars are confirmed.

No description available.

Les étoiles massives représentent un des principaux contributeurs à l'enrichissement des galaxies en éléments lourds et en poussière interstellaire. L’ultime étape de leur évolution est représentée par le stade Wolf-Rayet (WR). Les étoiles WR présentent la particularité de générer un vent stellaire radiatif dense, qui peut interagir avec celui d’un compagnon proche, donnant naissance à un environnement de poussière en forme de spirale. Les ordres de grandeur associés à ce type d’objet sont spectaculaires : avec un taux de formation de poussière équivalent à la masse de la planète Mars produite chaque année, elles rivalisent avec les producteurs historiques de la poussière que sont les étoiles de la branche asymptotique des géantes (AGB) ou les supernovæ (SN). Les étoiles WR à poussière pourraient ainsi répondre à une problématique bien connue : d’où vient la poussière observée dans les galaxies ? Le présent travail de thèse vise donc à enrichir nos connaissances sur ce problème à travers tous les aspects de la chaîne scientifique : de l’observation à l’analyse de données en employant différents niveaux de sophistication en modélisation numérique (analytique, transfert radiatif et hydrodynamique). Le premier aspect exploré par cette thèse concerne la modélisation des nébuleuses spirales de poussières. J’ai d’abord développé un modèle analytique permettant de contraindre les aspects géométriques des spirales. Ce dernier inclut différentes hypothèses physiques comme la prise en compte d’un rayon de sublimation, de différents types de structure interne, etc. J’ai ensuite inclut le transfert de rayonnement au modèle géométrique afin de relier la distribution d’intensité de l’objet (l’image) à sa distribution en densité. Ce modèle 3-D de spirale de poussière permet d’étudier les effets d’opacité et d’ombrage liés à la masse ou au type de poussière considérée. J’ai également développé un modèle 3-D axisymétrique en transfert de rayonnement afin d’assimiler la spirale à une suite d’anneaux concentriques. Il vise à reproduire la distribution d’intensité d’une spirale à un azimut donné et permet une comparaison directe aux profils radiaux d’intensité issus d’observations. Enfin, nous avons mis en place un modèle hydrodynamique 3-D de binaire à interaction de vent, afin d’avoir une idée réaliste des conditions physiques en place au niveau de la zone de nucléation des poussières. Le second aspect abordé par cette thèse se concentre sur l’étude du prototype des nébuleuses spirales de poussière, nommé WR 104. J’explore ici toutes les échelles spatiales de l’objet : des grandes échelles avec l’imageur VLT/VISIR afin de faire le lien avec milieu interstellaire, aux régions les plus internes avec l’instrument VLTI/AMBER pour sonder la zone de nucléation de poussière, en passant par l’instrument d’optique adaptative extrême, VLT/SPHERE, afin d’étudier les premiers tours de la spirale. Le troisième et dernier aspect concerne l’instrument de seconde génération à équiper l’interféromètre européen (VLTI) : MATISSE. Il est le tout premier instrument à opérer en simultané dans les bandes L, M et N en recombinant la lumière issue de quatre télescopes. MATISSE a été conçu pour étudier une variété de cas scientifiques : des disques protoplanétaires aux noyaux actifs de galaxie, en passant par les environnements circumstellaires. Afin de préparer les premiers programmes observations, j’ai développé un outil automatisé, nommé PREVIS, visant à prédire l’observabilité des objets. Dans le cadre des nébuleuses spirales, j’ai pu explorer les capacités de l’instrument en reconstruction d’image en testant différents aspects (tailles, inclinaison, couverture (u-v), etc.). Avec un pouvoir de résolution spatiale de 3 mas à 3,5 µm, MATISSE permettra d’étudier ces objets de façon unique, en résolvant pour la première fois l’épaisseur des bras spiraux, leurs structures internes ou la position exacte du bord de sublimation. / Massive stars are one of the major contributors to the enrichment of galaxies in heavy elements and interstellar dust. The last stage of their evolution is represented by the Wolf-Rayet phase (WR). WR stars generate a dense radiative stellar wind, which can interact with the wind from a close companion and cause a spiral dust environment called pinwheel nebula. The orders of magnitude associated with this kind of object are spectacular: with a dust formation rate equivalent to the mass of the planet Mars produced each year, WR stars compete with the historical dust producers, like the stars of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) or the supernovae (SN). Dusty WR stars could thus answer a well-known problem: where does the dust observed in galaxies come from? This thesis aims at enriching our knowledge about this problem using all aspects of the scientific chain: from observation to data analysis by using different levels of sophistication in numerical modelling (analytical, radiative transfer and hydrodynamics). The first aspect explored by this thesis concerns the modelling of spiral dust nebulae. I first developed an analytical model for the spiral to constrain the geometrical aspects of the spiral, including a number of physical hypothesis like the dust sublimation radius and different types of internal structure. The next step consisted to include the radiative transfer in the geometrical model in order to link the intensity distribution of the object (the image) to its density distribution. This 3-D model of spiral allow to study the opacity and shadowing effects related to the dust mass considered. Similarly, I developed a 3-D axisymmetric radiative transfer model to mimic the spiral into a series of concentric rings. This model aims to reproduce the intensity distribution of a spiral at a given azimuth and allows a direct comparison with the radial intensity profiles derived from observations. Finally, we implemented a 3-D hydrodynamic model of a wind-wind interacting binary to get a realistic idea of the physical conditions in places around the dust nucleation zone. The second aspect addressed by this thesis focuses to the study of the prototype of the pinwheel nebula, called WR104. Such object is an ideal laboratory to study the problem of dust nucleation around massive stars. I explored all spatial scales of WR 104: From the large scale with VLT/VISIR to study the link with the interstellar medium, to the internal regions with VLTI/AMBER to probe the dust nucleation zone, including intermediate angular resolution to study the pinwheel structure with extreme adaptive optics instrument VLT/SPHERE. The third and last aspect deals with the second generation of the instrument installed at the European Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI): MATISSE. It is the first instrument operating simultaneously in the L, M and N bands by recombining the light coming from four telescopes. MATISSE was developed to study different scientific cases: protoplanetary disks, the circumstellar environments and the active galactic nuclei. To prepare the first observation programs, I developed an automated tool, called PREVIS, to determine the observability of objects according to their magnitude and celestial coordinate. In the context of spiral nebulae, I explored the image reconstruction capabilities of the instrument by testing different aspects: geometric (size, inclination, opening angle, etc.) and observational (coverage (u-v), sampling). The unprecedented spatial resolution of MATISSE of 3 mas at 3.5 µm will allow to study these objects in a unique way, resolving for the first time the thickness of the spiral arm, its internal structure or the exact position of the sublimation radius.

The intriguing WN4b star WR 6 has been known to display epoch-dependent spectroscopic, photometric and polarimetric variability for several decades. In this paper, we set out to verify if a simplified analytical model in which corotating interaction regions (CIRs) threading an otherwise spherical wind is able to reproduce the many broad-band continuum light curves from the literature with a reasonable set of parameters. We modified the optically thin model developed by Ignace, St-Louis & Proulx-Giraldeau to approximately account for multiple scattering and used it to fit 13 separate data sets of this star. By including two CIRs in the wind, we obtained reasonable fits for all data sets with coherent values for the inclination of the rotation axis (i0 = 166°) and for its orientation in the plane of the sky, although in the latter case we obtained two equally acceptable values (ψ = 63° and 152°) from the polarimetry. Additional line profile variation simulations using the Sobolev approximation for the line transfer allowed us to eliminate the ψ = 152° solution. With the adopted configuration (i0 = 166° and ψ = 63°), we were able to reproduce all data sets relatively well with two CIRs located near the stellar equator and always separated by ∼90° in longitude. The epoch dependence comes from the fact that these CIRs migrate along the surface of the star. Density contrasts smaller than a factor of 2 and large opening angles for the CIR (β⪆35∘) were found to best reproduce the type of spectroscopic variability reported in the literature.

With a deep Chandra/HETGS exposure of WR 6, we have resolved emission lines whose profiles show that the X-rays originate from a uniformly expanding spherical wind of high X-ray-continuum optical depth. The presence of strong helium-like forbidden lines places the source of X-ray emission at tens to hundreds of stellar radii from the photosphere. Variability was present in X-rays and simultaneous optical photometry, but neither were correlated with the known period of the system or with each other. An enhanced abundance of sodium revealed nuclear-processed material, a quantity related to the evolutionary state of the star. The characterization of the extent and nature of the hot plasma in WR 6 will help to pave the way to a more fundamental theoretical understanding of the winds and evolution of massive stars.

Oxygen sequence Wolf-Rayet stars (WO) are thought to be the final evolution phase of some high-mass stars, as such they may be the progenitors of Type Ic SNe as well as potential progenitors of broad-lined Ic and long gamma-ray bursts. We present the first spectropolarimetric observations of the Galactic WO stars WR93b and WR102 obtained with FORS1 on the Very Large Telescope. We find no sign of a line effect, which could be expected if these stars were rapid rotators. We also place constraints on the amplitude of a potentially undetected line effect. This allows us to derive upper limits on the possible intrinsic continuum polarization and find Pcont < 0.077 per cent and Pcont < 0.057 per cent for WR93b and WR102, respectively. Furthermore, we derive upper limits on the rotation of our WO stars by considering our results in the context of the wind compression effect. We estimate that for an edge-on case the rotational velocity of WR93b is vrot < 324 km s−1 while for WR102 vrot < 234 km s−1. These correspond to values of vrot/vcrit < 19 per cent and j) < 18.0 cm2 s−1 for WR93b and 2 s−1 for WR102. The upper limits found on vrot/vcrit and log(j) for our WO stars are therefore similar to the estimates calculated for Galactic Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars that do show a line effect. Therefore, although the presence of a line effect in a single WR star is indicative of fast rotation, the absence of a line effect does not rule out significant rotation, even when considering the edge-on scenario.