WSO and the winds of massive stars: the gate to the metal-poor Local Universe

Garcia, M.; Herrero, A.; Najarro, Francisco
Bibliographical reference

Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 335, Issue 1, pp.91-96

Advertised on:
9
2011
Number of authors
3
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
4
Refereed citations
2
Description
The spectrographs on-board the World Space Observatory (WSO) will provide access to the 1020-1800 Å wavelength range with unprecedented sensitivity. Previous observatories operating in the 1150-2000 Å range (such as IUE and HST-STIS) have proved extremely useful to study the winds of OB type stars, which leave their most prominent imprints in the far ultraviolet range. The addition of the λ < 1200 Å wavelengths is critical as it contains important diagnostic lines for mass loss and shocks in the wind, as found by FUSE-based analyses. WSO will enable quantitative spectroscopic analyses of blue massive stars in the Local Group beyond the Magellanic Clouds. The results will lead to the characterization of their winds as a function of metallicity, and shed new light on current urging questions regarding radiation driven winds.
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Sergio
Simón Díaz