SPIRITS 19q: Dust Production by a Subsolar-metallicity Carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet Star in NGC 2403
Abstract
We present JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations of SPIRITS 19q, the highly dust-producing carbon-rich (WC) binary candidate located in a subsolar-metallicity region of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403. The observations, taken in April of 2024, confirm the association of a dusty outburst observed in 2019 by the Spitzer Space Telescope with an early-type WC star. Using models from the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) LMC model grid we find that the WC star of SPIRITS 19q likely has an especially high mass-loss rate (≳ 10−4 M⊙ yr−1). From the flux peak of the IR transient as measured by Spitzer/IRAC as well as constraints on dust composition and size from the JWST spectrum, we estimate a total dust mass formed in the outburst of 6.6 ± 0.4 × 10−6 M⊙. Assuming a minimum orbital period of 12 years, this corresponds to a period-averaged dust production rate of ≲ 5.5 × 10−7 M⊙ yr−1. These observations suggest that even a single WC system can contribute to the dust budget at subsolar metallicities, and that such systems are an important source of carbonaceous dust grains in the early universe.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{rose2026spirits,
title = {{SPIRITS 19q: Dust Production by a Subsolar-metallicity Carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet Star in NGC 2403}},
author = {Sam Rose and Ryan M. Lau and Jacob E. Jencson and Mansi M. Kasliwal and Andreas A. C. Sander and Howard E. Bond and Michael F. Corcoran and Izumi Endo and Matthew J. Hankins and Olivia C. Jones and Viraj R. Karambelkar and Astrid Lamberts and Thomas Madura and Anthony F. J. Moffat and Patrick W. Morris and Takashi Onaka and Michael E. Ressler and Noel D. Richardson and Christopher M. P. Russell and Itsuki Sakon and J. Sanchez-Bermudez and Gerd Weigelt and Peredur M. Williams},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.00477},
eprint = {2609.00477},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00477},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - SPIRITS 19q: Dust Production by a Subsolar-metallicity Carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet Star in NGC 2403
AU - Sam Rose
AU - Ryan M. Lau
AU - Jacob E. Jencson
AU - Mansi M. Kasliwal
AU - Andreas A. C. Sander
AU - Howard E. Bond
AU - Michael F. Corcoran
AU - Izumi Endo
AU - Matthew J. Hankins
AU - Olivia C. Jones
AU - Viraj R. Karambelkar
AU - Astrid Lamberts
AU - Thomas Madura
AU - Anthony F. J. Moffat
AU - Patrick W. Morris
AU - Takashi Onaka
AU - Michael E. Ressler
AU - Noel D. Richardson
AU - Christopher M. P. Russell
AU - Itsuki Sakon
AU - J. Sanchez-Bermudez
AU - Gerd Weigelt
AU - Peredur M. Williams
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.00477
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00477
AB - We present JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations of SPIRITS 19q, the highly dust-producing carbon-rich (WC) binary candidate located in a subsolar-metallicity region of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403. The observations, taken in April of 2024, confirm the association of a dusty outburst observed in 2019 by the Spitzer Space Telescope with an early-type WC star. Using models from the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) LMC model grid we find that the WC star of SPIRITS 19q likely has an especially high mass-loss rate (≳ 10^−4 M_⊙ yr^−1). From the flux peak of the IR transient as measured by Spitzer/IRAC as well as constraints on dust composition and size from the JWST spectrum, we estimate a total dust mass formed in the outburst of 6.6 ± 0.4 × 10^−6 M_⊙. Assuming a minimum orbital period of 12 years, this corresponds to a period-averaged dust production rate of ≲ 5.5 × 10^−7 M_⊙ yr^−1. These observations suggest that even a single WC system can contribute to the dust budget at subsolar metallicities, and that such systems are an important source of carbonaceous dust grains in the early universe.
ER -