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The ionized nebula surrounding the red supergiant W26 in Westerlund 1

Wright

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Abstract

We present Ha images of an ionized nebula surrounding the M2-5Ia red supergiant (RSG) W26 in the massive star cluster Westerlund 1. The nebula consists of a circumstellar shell or ring ~0.1 pc in diameter and a triangular nebula ~0.2 pc from the star that in high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope images shows a complex filamentary structure. The excitation mechanism of both regions is unclear since RSGs are too cool to produce ionizing photons and we consider various possibilities. The presence of the nebula, high stellar luminosity and spectral variability suggests that W26 is a highly evolved RSG experiencing extreme levels of mass-loss. As the only known example of an ionized nebula surrounding an RSG W26 deserves further attention to improve our understanding of the final evolutionary stages of massive stars.

Acceptance Date Sep 9, 2013
Publication Date Jan 1, 2014
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Publisher Oxford University Press
Pages 1-5
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slt127
Keywords circumstellar matter, stars, individual, W26, mass-loss, supergiants, winds, outflows
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slt127

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