Publication Date
3-1-2024
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Astrophysical Journal
Volume
963
Issue
2
DOI
10.3847/1538-4357/ad192c
Abstract
We present infrared aperture-masking interferometry (AMI) observations of newly formed dust from the colliding winds of the massive binary Wolf-Rayet system WR 137 with JWST using the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS). NIRISS AMI observations of WR 137 and a point-spread function calibrator star, HD 228337, were taken using the F380M and F480M filters in 2022 July and August as part of the Director’s Discretionary Early Release Science program #1349. Interferometric observables (squared visibilities and closure phases) from the WR 137 “interferogram” were extracted and calibrated using three independent software tools: ImPlaneIA, AMICAL, and SAMpip. The analysis of the calibrated observables yielded consistent values except for slightly discrepant closure phases measured by ImPlaneIA. Based on all three sets of calibrated observables, images were reconstructed using three independent software tools: BSMEM, IRBis, and SQUEEZE. All reconstructed image combinations generated consistent images in both F380M and F480M filters. The reconstructed images of WR 137 reveal a bright central core with a ∼300 mas linear filament extending to the northwest. A geometric colliding-wind model with dust production constrained to the orbital plane of the binary system and enhanced as the system approaches periapsis provided a general agreement with the interferometric observables and reconstructed images. Based on a colliding-wind dust condensation analysis, we suggest that dust formation within the orbital plane of WR 137 is induced by enhanced equatorial mass loss from the rapidly rotating O9 companion star, whose axis of rotation is aligned with that of the orbit.
Funding Number
80GSFC21M0002
Funding Sponsor
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Physics and Astronomy
Recommended Citation
Ryan M. Lau, Matthew J. Hankins, Joel Sanchez-Bermudez, Deepashri Thatte, Anthony Soulain, Rachel A. Cooper, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Michael F. Corcoran, Alexandra Z. Greenbaum, Theodore R. Gull, Yinuo Han, Olivia C. Jones, Thomas Madura, Anthony F.J. Moffat, Mark R. Morris, Takashi Onaka, Christopher M.P. Russell, Noel D. Richardson, and Nathan Smith. "A First Look with JWST Aperture Masking Interferometry: Resolving Circumstellar Dust around the Wolf-Rayet Binary WR 137 beyond the Rayleigh Limit" Astrophysical Journal (2024). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad192c
