Using a new spectral disentangling approach to ascertain whether the massive binary HDE 228766 contains a Wolf–Rayet star

Abstract

ABSTRACT The massive binary HDE 228766 is composed of an O type primary and an evolved secondary. However, previous qualitative analyses of the composite spectrum have led to a wide discussion about whether the secondary is an Of or a Wolf–Rayet star. We use new observations and our novel QER20 package to disentangle for the first time the spectra of the two stellar components and obtain artefact$-$free reconstructed spectra, yielding the more accurate and reliable spectral classifications of O7.5 V((f))z for the primary and O6 Iaf for the secondary. The emission features of the P$-$Cygni profiles of the H $\beta$ and He i 5876 Å lines, present in the reconstructed spectrum of the secondary, show that this star is at an initial phase of its transition to the WN evolutionary stage. A previously unobserved variable emission, composed of at least four independent features, is seen since 2014 superposed to the H $\gamma$ absorption line. Our analysis reveals that these emission features originate from a physically extended region. This could be explained by an episode of enhanced mass-loss in the scenario of a non$-$conservative evolution of the binary.