S20A0054abst
S20A0054
We propose for the completion of our approved S19B COMICS high spatial resolution N-band (11.7 µm) imaging survey in addition to low resolution N-band spectroscopy of warm (∼500 K) dust around 25 dust-producing Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. Such WR stars, thought to all be binary, have been previously overlooked as significant contributors to the dust budget in low metallicity galaxies in the local and early Universe due to improbable formation channels in the framework of single-star evolution. However, recent observational studies have shown that most, if not all, massive stars are binaries that should interact over their lifetimes. Stellar evolutionary models incorporating binary interaction indeed predict the presence of WC system in low metallicities. In this survey, we aim to (1) characterize the dust production modes of known dusty WR systems by searching for extended emission indicative of episodic/periodic dust formation events and (2) verify their dust chemistry from 8 - 13 µm spectroscopy. Based on the dust production modes, we can estimate dust production rates from WR systems and apply the results to binary population synthesis models to predict their contribution to galactic dust budgets.
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