Investigating the impact of different velocity fields on the spectral appearance of Wolf-Rayet stars

Roel R. Lefever, Tomer Shenar, Andreas A. C. Sander, Luka Poniatowski, Karan Dsilva, Helge Todt

Published 2022-09-13Version 1

The emission line spectra of WR stars are often formed completely in the optically thick stellar wind. Hence, any assumption on the wind velocity law in a spectral analysis has a profound impact on the determination of the stellar parameters. By comparing Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) model spectra calculated with different $\beta$ laws, we show that the velocity field heavily influences the spectra: by using the appropriate $\beta$ laws, the entire range of late and early types can be covered with the same stellar model.