Variable dust emission by WC type Wolf-Rayets

Infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) were assembled, making use of archival r, i, Z, and Y photometry to determine reddening and stellar wind levels for the WC stars found in recent IR surveys and lacking optical photometry.

From their SEDs, 10 apparently non-variable stars were newly identified as dust makers, including three, WR 102-22, WR 110-10, and WR 124-10, having subtype earlier than WC8-9, the first such stars to show this phenomenon. The 11 stars found to show variable dust emission include six new episodic dust makers, WR 47c, WR 75-11, WR 91-1, WR 122-14, and WR 125-1 in the Galaxy and HD 38030 in the LMC. Of previously known dust makers, NEOWISE-R photometry of WR 19 captured its rise to maximum in 2018 confirming the 10.1-yr period, that of WR 125 the beginning of a new episode of dust formation suggesting a period near 28.3yr. while that of HD 36402 covered almost a whole period and forced revision of it to 5.1yr.