VLT observations of the highly ionized nebula around Brey2
English
Nazé, Yaël[Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Groupe d'astrophysique des hautes énergies (GAPHE) >]
Rauw, Grégor[Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Groupe d'astrophysique des hautes énergies (GAPHE) >]
Manfroid, Jean[Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) >]
[en] stars : individual : Brey2 ; ISM : bubbles ; ISM : abundances ; ISM : supernova remnants
[en] We present the first high resolution He II lambda4686 images of the high excitation nebula around the WR star Brey2 in the LMC. This nebula presents a striking morphology: a small arc-like feature some 3.6 pc in radius is particularly prominent in the He II lambda4686 line. We further discover a previously unknown faint He II emission that extends over an area of 22 x 17 pc(2). An even fainter He II emission is apparently associated with the interstellar bubble blown by the progenitor of Brey2. The total He II flux corresponds to an ionizing flux of 4 x 10(47) photons s(-1). Halpha, [O III], and He I lambda5876 images and long-slit spectra are also examined in this letter, enabling us to investigate the detailed physical properties at various locations of the nebula.