http://arxiv.org/abs/1705.01161
Deep narrow-band imaging of the iconic spiral galaxy M101 has revealed over a thousand Wolf Rayet (WR) candidates. We report spectrographic confirmation of 10 HeII emission line sources hosting 15 WR stars. We find WR stars present at both sub– and super–solar metalicities with WC stars favouring more metal-rich regions compared to WN stars. We investigate the association of WR stars with HII regions using archival HST imaging and conclude that the majority of WR stars are in or associated with HII regions with only 10% truly isolated. Our spectroscopic survey provides confidence that our narrow-band photometric candidates are in fact bonafide WR stars, which will allow us to characterise the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae that erupt in the future in M101.
J. Pledger, M. Shara, M. Wilde, et. al.
Thu, 4 May 17
34/54
Comments: 15 pages, 26 Figures
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