DISENTANGLING THE NATURE OF THE RADIO EMISSION IN WOLF-RAYET STARS

We present quasi-simultaneous, multi-frequency Very Large Array observations at 4.8, 8.4, and 22.5 GHz of a sample of 13 Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, aimed at disentangling the nature of their radio emission and the possible detection of a non-thermal behavior in close binary systems. We detected 12 stars from our sample, for which we derived spectral information and estimated their mass-loss rates. From our data, we identified four thermal sources (WR 89, 113, 138, and 141), and three sources with a composite spectrum ( similar contribution of thermal and non-thermal emission; WR 8, 98, and 156). On the other hand, from the comparison with previous observations, we confirm the non-thermal spectrum of one (WR 105), and also found evidence of a composite spectrum for WR 79a, 98a, 104, and 133. Finally, we discuss the possible scenarios to explain the nature of the emission for the observed objects.