Knowra Wolf–Rayet star Wolf–Rayet star A hot, luminous evolved star whose powerful winds produce broad emission lines and can expose helium- or carbon-rich layers beneath its outer envelope.
Stellar wind : A continuous outflow of gas from a star, driven by processes such as radiation pressure. Radiation pressure on spectral lines drives the dense outflows that shape Wolf–Rayet spectra.
Stellar evolution : The changes in a star’s structure, composition, and luminosity over its lifetime. Wolf–Rayet stars are short-lived stages in the evolution of massive stars.
Charles Wolf : A French astronomer who co-discovered the unusual emission-line stars now called Wolf–Rayet stars. His observations with Georges Rayet established the stellar class’s name.
Type Ib and Ic supernova : A core-collapse supernova lacking hydrogen lines, with Type Ic also lacking prominent helium lines. Stripped Wolf–Rayet stars are leading progenitor candidates for these hydrogen-poor explosions.
O-type star : A very hot, massive star classified by prominent ionized-helium absorption in its spectrum. O-type stars usually retain hydrogen-rich envelopes that Wolf–Rayet stars have partly or largely lost.
Radiation pressure : The force exerted by electromagnetic radiation when it transfers momentum to matter. In Wolf–Rayet stars, it accelerates ions and sustains exceptionally strong winds.
Nuclear fusion : A process in which light atomic nuclei combine and release energy. Fusion builds the helium, carbon, and heavier layers that stellar winds can expose.
Georges Rayet : A French astronomer who co-discovered stars with broad emission lines in the constellation Cygnus. The class commemorates his role in the first recognition of these unusual spectra.
Core-collapse supernova : A supernova caused by the collapse of the core of a massive star. Wolf–Rayet stars can end their lives when their depleted cores collapse.
Luminous blue variable : An unstable, highly luminous massive star that undergoes irregular episodes of extreme mass loss. Both can have powerful winds, but luminous blue variables remain a distinct, often less stripped evolutionary state.
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