S20B0129abst
S20B0129
We propose diffraction-limited (βΌ50 mas) Subaru/SCExAO/CHARIS near-IR spectroscopic imaging of two orbitally modulated dust-producing colliding-wind Wolf-Rayet (WR) binaries in different phases of dust formation. Dust formation from such WR binaries may present a viable solution to the uncertain origin of significant quantities of dust observed in galaxies in the early Universe. Despite their well-studied history, the advent of powerful new instrumentation now enables us to probe the physics of dust in the hostile environments around WR stars. Using CHARIS to obtain the first IR spectroscopic imaging of a dusty WR system, we aim to address these open questions. Our proposed targets are WR 140, the archetypal periodic dust-forming WR binary that underwent a dust production event in Dec 2016, and WR 125, another periodic dust-forming WR binary that is currently undergoing increased dust production with peak IR emission expected in Mid-2020. Our observations will be able to constrain the dust grain size and resolve possible clumpiness in the dust morphology at different phases of dust formation. These observations will serve as a pilot study for a future survey of dust formation in dusty WR binaries.
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