| Issue |
A&A
Volume 384, Number 3, March IV 2002
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 1012 - 1022 | |
| Section | Interstellar and circumstellar matter | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20020085 | |
| Published online | 15 March 2002 | |
On the variability of the visual binary WR 86*
WC7 with a β-Cephei companion
1
Leiden Observatory, Postbus 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
2
SRON National Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht, The Netherlands
Corresponding author: A. M. van Genderen, genderen@strw.leidenuniv.nl
Received:
30
August
2001
Accepted:
15
January
2002
We discuss the variability of WR 86 (WC7 (+B0 III)), a known visual binary,
confirmed by Hubble Space Telescope observations (Niemela et al. [CITE]).
Photometric observations show a fairly smooth light curve with a time scale
of ~3.5 h and a light amplitude of 
. Because of the spectral
classification of the visual companion (B0 III) it might well be
a β-Cephei star. From observations taken in 1989, 1990 and 1995 we derive
two photometric frequencies, 
and 
, where only the latter is given in the recent VIIth
catalogue of galactic Wolf-Rayet stars (van der Hucht [CITE]).
Our spectroscopy reveals a slightly variable WR star and almost
certainly a pulsating companion. Comparison with stellar models suggests that WR 86 consists of
a 
β-Cephei star in combination with a
WR star of initial mass 
, at 
. We derive a distance
to WR 86 of 
kpc.
Key words: stars: binaries: general / stars: Wolf-Rayet / stars: individual: WR 86
© ESO, 2002
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