%0 Journal Article
%T Anisotropic winds in a Wolf每Rayet binary identify a potential gamma-ray burst progenitor
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0617-7
%X The massive evolved Wolf每Rayet stars sometimes occur in colliding-wind binary systems in which dust plumes are formed as a result of the collision of stellar winds1. These structures are known to encode the parameters of the binary orbit and winds2,3,4. Here we report observations of a previously undiscovered Wolf每Rayet system, 2XMMˋJ160050.7每514245, with a spectroscopically determined wind speed of ~3,400ˋkmˋsˋ1. In the thermal infrared, the system is adorned with a prominent ~12∪ spiral dust plume, revealed by proper motion studies to be expanding at only ~570ˋkmˋsˋ1. As the dust and gas appear to be coeval, these observations are inconsistent with existing models of the dynamics of such colliding-wind systems5,6,7. We propose that this contradiction can be resolved if the system is capable of launching extremely anisotropic winds. Near-critical stellar rotation is known to drive such winds8,9, suggesting that this Wolf每Rayet system may be a Galactic progenitor system for long-duration gamma-ray bursts
%U https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0617-7