Colliding winds in WR21 and WR31 – I. The X-ray view.

WR21 and WR31 are two WR + O binaries with short periods, quite similar to the case of V444 Cyg. The XMM-Newton observatory has monitored these two objects and clearly revealed phase-locked variations as expected from colliding winds. The changes are maximum in the soft band (0.5–2.0 keV, variations by a factor 3–4) where they are intrinsically linked to absorption effects. The increase in absorption due to the dense WR wind is confirmed by the spectral analysis. The flux maximum is however not detected exactly at conjunction with the O star in front but slightly afterwards, suggesting Coriolis deflection of the collision zone as in V444 Cyg. In the hard band (2–10 keV), the variations (by a factor of 1.5–2.0) are much more limited. Because of the lower orbital inclinations, eclipses as observed for V444 Cyg are not detected in these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]