X-ray study of WR 48-6: A possible colliding wind binary

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of the X-ray emission associated with the Wolf–Rayet star, WR 48-6, using observations from the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray telescopes covering two epochs separated by eleven months. The X-ray spectrum of WR 48-6 is well explained by a two-temperature plasma model, with cool and hot plasma temperatures of \(0.8_{-0.2}^{+0.1}\) and \(2.86_{-0.66}^{+1.01}\) keV. No significant X-ray variability is observed during these two epochs of observations. However, an increase in the local hydrogen column density accompanied by a decrease in the intrinsic X-ray flux between two epochs of observations is seen. Additionally, the intrinsic X-ray luminosity is found to be more than \(10^{33}\) erg \(\hbox {s}^{-1}\) during both epochs of observations. Based on the analysis presented, WR 48-6 is a promising colliding wind binary candidate with a possible companion of spectral type O5–O6.