Optical and X-ray observations of stellar winds in Wolf-Rayet binaries

Abstract

New spectrophotometric, photometric and polarimetric observations of V444 Cygni confirm the basic conclusion that the WN5 star has a small core radius (rc < 4 R⊙) and a high core temperature (Tc > 60 000 K), which are characteristic of massive helium stars. Values of rc < 3 — 6 R⊙ and Tc > 70 000 — 90 000 K for the core of the WN7 star in the Cygnus X-3 system agree well with this conclusion. A clumping structure of WR winds is suggested. X-ray observations of colliding winds in WR+O binaries suggest radial expansion and anomalous chemical composition of WR winds.