# Colliding-wind binary

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Binary star system in which two massive stars emit powerful stellar winds

A **colliding-wind binary** is a [binary star](/source/Binary_star) system in which the two members are massive stars that emit powerful, radiatively-driven [stellar winds](/source/Stellar_wind). The location where these two winds collide produces a strong shock front that can cause radio, [X-ray](/source/X-ray) and possibly [synchrotron radiation](/source/Synchrotron_radiation) emission.[1] Wind compression in the bow shock region between the two stellar winds allows dust formation. When this dust streams away from the orbiting pair, it can form a pinwheel [nebula](/source/Nebula) of spiraling dust. Such pinwheels have been observed in the [Quintuplet Cluster](/source/Quintuplet_Cluster).[2]

A composite optical/x-ray image of Eta Carinae and its surrounding nebula taken by the [Chandra X-ray Observatory](/source/Chandra_X-ray_Observatory) and the [Hubble Space Telescope](/source/Hubble_Space_Telescope). The blue inner part of the nebula is optical emission, powered by the collision of winds from Eta Carinae and its unseen companion.[3] Credit: Chandra Science Center and NASA.

The archetype of such a colliding-wind binary system is [WR 140](/source/WR_140) (HD 193793), which consists of a 20 [solar mass](/source/Solar_mass) ([M☉](/source/Solar_mass)) [Wolf-Rayet star](/source/Wolf-Rayet_star) orbiting about a 50 M☉, [spectral class](/source/Spectral_class) [O4–5 main sequence star](/source/O-type_main_sequence_star) every 7.9 years. The high [orbital eccentricity](/source/Orbital_eccentricity) of the pair allows astronomers to observe changes in the colliding wind region as their separation varies.[4][5] Another prominent example of a colliding-wind binary is thought to be [Eta Carinae](/source/Eta_Carinae), one of the most luminous objects in the [Milky Way](/source/Milky_Way) galaxy.[6] The first colliding-wind binary to be detected in the X-ray band outside the Milky Way galaxy was [HD 5980](/source/HD_5980), located in the [Small Magellanic Cloud](/source/Small_Magellanic_Cloud).[7]

## See also

- [Struve-Sahade effect](/source/Struve-Sahade_effect)

- [Cosmic wind](/source/Cosmic_wind)

- [Stellar wind](/source/Stellar_wind)

- [Solar wind](/source/Solar_wind)

- [Planetary wind](/source/Planetary_wind)

- [Stellar-wind bubble](/source/Stellar-wind_bubble)

- [Pulsar wind nebula](/source/Pulsar_wind_nebula)

- [Galactic superwind](/source/Galactic_superwind)

- [Superwind](/source/Superwind)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-arxiv1006.3540_1-0)** Volpi, Delia; Blomme, Ronny; De Becker, Michael; Rauw, Gregor (December 2010). "Non-thermal radio emission from colliding-wind binaries: modelling Cyg OB2 No. 8A and No. 9". *Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union*. **6**: 638–639. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[1012.3403](https://arxiv.org/abs/1012.3403). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2011IAUS..272..638V](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011IAUS..272..638V). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S1743921311011689](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS1743921311011689). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [7269006](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:7269006).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-science313_5789_935_2-0)** Tuthill, Peter; et al. (August 18, 2006). ["Pinwheels in the Quintuplet Cluster"](https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1128731). *Science*. **313** (5789): 935. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[astro-ph/0608427](https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0608427). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2006Sci...313..935T](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006Sci...313..935T). [CiteSeerX](/source/CiteSeerX_(identifier)) [10.1.1.255.6805](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.255.6805). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1126/science.1128731](https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1128731). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [16917053](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16917053). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [17793345](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:17793345). Retrieved 2011-01-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-chandra20070620_3-0)** ["Eta Carinae: New View of a Doomed Star"](https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/etacar/). Chandra. June 20, 2007. Retrieved 2011-01-18.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-arxiv1011.0779_4-0)** Dougherty, S. M.; Trenton, V.; Beasley, A. J. (November 2010). "The orbit and distance of WR140". *Bulletin de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liège*. **80**: 658. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[1011.0779](https://arxiv.org/abs/1011.0779). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2011BSRSL..80..658D](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011BSRSL..80..658D).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nrao20050411_5-0)** Finley, Dave (April 11, 2005). ["Scientists Track Collision of Powerful Stellar Winds"](https://www.nrao.edu/pr/2005/wr140/). [National Radio Astronomy Observatory](/source/National_Radio_Astronomy_Observatory). Retrieved 2011-01-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-apjl716_2_L223_6-0)** Groh, J. H.; Madura, T. I.; Owocki, S. P.; Hillier, D. J.; Weigelt, G. (June 2010). "Is Eta Carinae a Fast Rotator, and How Much Does the Companion Influence the Inner Wind Structure?". *The Astrophysical Journal Letters*. **716** (2): L223–L228. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[1006.4816](https://arxiv.org/abs/1006.4816). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2010ApJ...716L.223G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010ApJ...716L.223G). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1088/2041-8205/716/2/L223](https://doi.org/10.1088%2F2041-8205%2F716%2F2%2FL223). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [119188874](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:119188874).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nasa20070216_7-0)** Naeye, Bob (February 16, 2007). "First X-Ray Detection of a Colliding-Wind Binary Beyond Milky Way". NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center.

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