A Kinematic Study of Wolf–Rayet Stars at the Galactic Center. I. Binary Candidates and Constraints on the Binary Fraction

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Abstract
We report the binary fraction of Wolf–Rayet (W-R) stars within 0.5 pc of the Galactic center obtained through the longest time-baseline (1994–2024) kinematic study of this population of stars. The new radial velocity (vz) data we present are primarily from the W. M. Keck Observatory, with additional vz measurements from Gemini North Observatory. When combining our new vz measurements with literature measurements, we find vz variations that suggest the presence of a companion for five out of 27 W-R stars, of which two are newly identified here (IRS 13E4, S8-181), along with three previously detected binaries (IRS 16SW, IRS 16NE, S4-258). Based on our experimental sensitivity and expected properties of the underlying population, we infer the binary fraction of the W-R stars in the Galactic center to be 0.56 ± 0.18. This is consistent with previous photometric studies of the young stars in the Galactic center and with the binary fraction of field W-R stars. When our results are combined with the results of previous photometric work, we find a binary fraction of 0.69 ± 0.17 for the W-R stars.
Funding Information
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (11458)
  • National Science Foundation (1909554)

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