The VIIth catalogue of galactic Wolf-Rayet stars

The VIIth catalogue of galactic Population I Wolf-Rayet stars provides impr oved coordinates, spectral types and by photometry of known WR stars and ad ds 71 new WR stars to the previous WR catalogue. This census of galactic WR stars reaches 227 stars, comprising 127 WN stars, 87 WC stars, 10 WN/WC st ars and 3 WO stars. This includes 15 WNL and 11 WCL stars within 30 pc of t he Galactic Center. We compile and discuss WR spectral classification, vari ability, periodicity, binarity, terminal wind velocities, correlation with open clusters and OB associations, and correlation with H I bubbles, H II r egions and ring nebulae. Intrinsic colours and absolute visual magnitudes p er subtype are re-assessed for a re-determination of optical photometric di stances and galactic distribution of WR stars. In the solar neighbourhood w e find projected on the galactic plane a surface density of 3.3 WR stars pe r kpc(2), with a WC/WN number ratio of 1.5, and a WR binary frequency (incl uding probable binaries) of 39%. The galactocentric distance (R-WR) distrib ution per subtype shows R-WR increasing with decreasing WR subtype, both fo r the WN and WC subtypes. This RWR distribution allows for the possibility of WNE --> WCE and WNL --> WCL subtype evolution. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.