Emission Lines in the Near-infrared Spectra of the Infrared Quintuplet Stars in the Galactic Center
- Departamento de Astrofísica, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón a Ajalvir km 4, E-28850 Torrejón de Ardoz (Spain)
- Gemini Observatory, 670 North A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)
- Center for Detectors, Rochester Institute of Technology, 74 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States)
- Instituto de Astronomía, Unidad Académica en Ensenada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada 22860, México (Mexico)
We report the detection of a number of emission lines in the 1.0–2.4 μ m spectra of four of the five bright-infrared dust-embedded stars at the center of the Galactic center’s (GC) Quintuplet Cluster. Spectroscopy of the central stars of these objects is hampered not only by the large interstellar extinction that obscures all of the objects in the GC, but also by the large amounts of warm circumstellar dust surrounding each of the five stars. The pinwheel morphologies of the dust observed previously around two of them are indicative of Wolf–Rayet colliding wind binaries; however, infrared spectra of each of the five have until now revealed only dust continua steeply rising to long wavelengths and absorption lines and bands from interstellar gas and dust. The emission lines detected, from ionized carbon and from helium, are broad and confirm that the objects are dusty late-type carbon Wolf–Rayet stars.
- OSTI ID:
- 22663227
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 845, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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