UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Wind clumping and the wind-wind collision zone in the Wolf-Rayet binary γ 2 Velorum XMM-Newton observations at high and low state

Wind clumping and the wind-wind collision zone in the Wolf-Rayet binary gamma ² Velorum observations at high and low state. XMM-Newton observations at high and low state General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Abstract. We present XMM-Newton observations of γ 2 Velorum (WR 11, WC8+O7.5III, P = 78.53 d), a nearby Wolf-Rayet binary system, at its X-ray high and low states. At high state, emission from a hot collisional plasma dominates from about 1 to 8 keV. At low state, photons between 1 and 4 keV are absorbed. The hot plasma is identified with the shock zone between the winds of the primary Wolf-Rayet star and the secondary O giant. The absorption at low state is interpreted as photoelectric absorption in the Wolf-Rayet wind. This absorption allows us to measure the absorbing column density and to derive a mass loss rate −6 M yr −1 for the WC8 star. This mass loss rate, in conjunction with a previous Wolf-Rayet wind model, provides evidence for a clumped WR wind. A clumping factor of 16 is required. The X-ray spectra below 1 keV (12 Å) show no absorption and are essentially similar in both states. There is a rather clear separation in that emission from a plasma hotter than 5 MK is heavily absorbed in low state while the cooler plasma is not. This cool plasma must come from a much more extended region than the hot material. The Neon abundance in the X-ray emitting material is 2.5 times the solar value. The unexpected detection of C (25.3 Å) and C (31.6 Å) radiative recombination continua at both phases indicates the presence of a cool (∼40 000 K) recombination region located far out in the binary system