@article{13474,
  abstract     = {Recent surveys of the Magellanic Clouds have revealed a subtype of Wolf–Rayet (WR) star with peculiar properties. WN3/O3 spectra exhibit both WR-like emission and O3 V-like absorption – but at lower luminosity than O3 V or WN stars. We examine the projected spatial distribution of WN3/O3 stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud as compared to O-type stars. Surprisingly, WN3/O3 stars are among the most isolated of all classes of massive stars; they have a distribution similar to red supergiants dominated by initial masses of 10–15 M⊙, and are far more dispersed than classical WR stars or luminous blue variables. Their lack of association with clusters of O-type stars suggests strongly that WN3/O3 stars are not the descendants of single massive stars (30 M⊙ or above). Instead, they are likely products of interacting binaries at lower initial mass (10–18 M⊙). Comparison with binary models suggests a probable origin with primaries in this mass range that were stripped of their H envelopes through non-conservative mass transfer by a low-mass secondary. We show that model spectra and positions on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram for binary-stripped stars are consistent with WN3/O3 stars. Monitoring radial velocities with high-resolution spectra can test for low-mass companions or runaway velocities. With lower initial mass and environments that avoid very massive stars, the WN3/O3 stars fit expectations for progenitors of Type Ib and possibly Type Ibn supernovae.},
  author       = {Smith, Nathan and Götberg, Ylva Louise Linsdotter and de Mink, Selma E},
  issn         = {1365-2966},
  journal      = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  keywords     = {Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {772--782},
  publisher    = {Oxford University Press},
  title        = {{Extreme isolation of WN3/O3 stars and implications for their evolutionary origin as the elusive stripped binaries}},
  doi          = {10.1093/mnras/stx3181},
  volume       = {475},
  year         = {2018},
}