Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti
RY Scuti, thought to be a Wolf–Rayet (WR) progenitor, is a massive post-main-sequence binary star system undergoing Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF). SOFIA (+FORCAST) spectroscopy of the inner, ionized region of RY Scuti’s double ringed toroidal nebula affirms the previous detection of the well-studied 12...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adc251 |
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| author | Sarah H. Taft Robert D. Gehrz Charles E. Woodward Nathan Smith Isabelle Perron Annalisa Citro |
| author_facet | Sarah H. Taft Robert D. Gehrz Charles E. Woodward Nathan Smith Isabelle Perron Annalisa Citro |
| author_sort | Sarah H. Taft |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | RY Scuti, thought to be a Wolf–Rayet (WR) progenitor, is a massive post-main-sequence binary star system undergoing Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF). SOFIA (+FORCAST) spectroscopy of the inner, ionized region of RY Scuti’s double ringed toroidal nebula affirms the previous detection of the well-studied 12.81 μ m Ne ii forbidden transition and reveals four distinct emission lines, including three previously undetected transitions, S iii , Fe iii , and S iii . Cloudy photoionization modeling of the four neon, sulfur, and iron lines was performed to derive fractional abundances (log( $\frac{X}{H}$ )) of neon at −3.19 ± 0.0251, sulfur at −3.76 ± 0.0487, and iron at −2.23 ± 0.0286. All three species are overabundant with respect to fiducial solar chemical abundances, especially iron. Our analysis suggests that the outer envelope of the primary star in the RY Scuti system is being stripped away via RLOF, leaving helium-rich and hydrogen-poor material visible to observation. This material also exhibits elevated neon, sulfur, and iron fractional abundances, consistent with RY Scuti evolving toward a WR object. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3336fd4f72f84effa0d2ca080ca05dcd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-3336fd4f72f84effa0d2ca080ca05dcd2025-08-20T02:12:06ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169527110.3847/1538-3881/adc251Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY ScutiSarah H. Taft0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6482-4074Robert D. Gehrz1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1319-4089Charles E. Woodward2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6567-627XNathan Smith3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5510-2424Isabelle Perron4Annalisa Citro5https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9676-0538Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USAMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USAMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USASteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USAMinnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USARY Scuti, thought to be a Wolf–Rayet (WR) progenitor, is a massive post-main-sequence binary star system undergoing Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF). SOFIA (+FORCAST) spectroscopy of the inner, ionized region of RY Scuti’s double ringed toroidal nebula affirms the previous detection of the well-studied 12.81 μ m Ne ii forbidden transition and reveals four distinct emission lines, including three previously undetected transitions, S iii , Fe iii , and S iii . Cloudy photoionization modeling of the four neon, sulfur, and iron lines was performed to derive fractional abundances (log( $\frac{X}{H}$ )) of neon at −3.19 ± 0.0251, sulfur at −3.76 ± 0.0487, and iron at −2.23 ± 0.0286. All three species are overabundant with respect to fiducial solar chemical abundances, especially iron. Our analysis suggests that the outer envelope of the primary star in the RY Scuti system is being stripped away via RLOF, leaving helium-rich and hydrogen-poor material visible to observation. This material also exhibits elevated neon, sulfur, and iron fractional abundances, consistent with RY Scuti evolving toward a WR object.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adc251Binary starsChemical abundancesStellar atmospheres |
| spellingShingle | Sarah H. Taft Robert D. Gehrz Charles E. Woodward Nathan Smith Isabelle Perron Annalisa Citro Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti The Astronomical Journal Binary stars Chemical abundances Stellar atmospheres |
| title | Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti |
| title_full | Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti |
| title_fullStr | Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti |
| title_short | Simulating Chemical Abundances in the Circumstellar Nebula of the Late Stage Binary RY Scuti |
| title_sort | simulating chemical abundances in the circumstellar nebula of the late stage binary ry scuti |
| topic | Binary stars Chemical abundances Stellar atmospheres |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adc251 |
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