No Arabic abstract
Reliable predictions of mass-loss rates are important for massive-star evolution computations. We aim to provide predictions for mass-loss rates and wind-momentum rates of O-type stars, carefully studying the behaviour of these winds as functions of stellar parameters like luminosity and metallicity. We use newly developed steady-state models of radiation-driven winds to compute the global properties of a grid of O-stars. The self-consistent models are calculated by means of an iterative solution to the equation of motion using full NLTE radiative transfer in the co-moving frame to compute the radiative acceleration. In order to study winds in different galactic environments, the grid covers main-sequence stars, giants and supergiants in the Galaxy and both Magellanic Clouds. We find a strong dependence of mass-loss on both luminosity and metallicity. Mean values across the grid are $dot{M}sim L_{ast}^{2.2}$ and $dot{M}sim Z_{ast}^{0.95}$, however we also find a somewhat stronger dependence on metallicity for lower luminosities. Similarly, the mass loss-luminosity relation is somewhat steeper for the SMC than for the Galaxy. In addition, the computed rates are systematically lower (by a factor 2 and more) than those commonly used in stellar-evolution calculations. Overall, our results agree well with observations in the Galaxy that account properly for wind-clumping, with empirical $dot{M}$ vs. $Z_ast$ scaling relations, and with observations of O-dwarfs in the SMC. Our results provide simple fit relations for mass-loss rates and wind momenta of massive O-stars stars as functions of luminosity and metallicity, valid in the range $T_{rm eff} = 28000 - 45000$,K. Due to the systematically lower $dot{M}$, our new models suggest that new rates might be needed in evolution simulations of massive stars.
[Abridged] Context: Radiation-driven mass loss plays a key role in the life-cycles of massive stars. However, basic predictions of such mass loss still suffer from significant quantitative uncertainties. Aims: We develop new radiation-driven, steady-state wind models for massive stars with hot surfaces, suitable for quantitative predictions of global parameters like mass-loss and wind-momentum rates. Methods: The simulations presented here are based on a self-consistent, iterative grid-solution to the spherically symmetric, steady-state equation of motion, using full NLTE radiative transfer solutions in the co-moving frame to derive the radiative acceleration. We do not rely on any distribution functions or parametrization for computation of the line force responsible for the wind driving. Results: In this first paper, we present models representing two prototypical O-stars in the Galaxy, one with a higher stellar mass M/Msun=59 and luminosity log10(L/Lsun)= 5.87 and one with a lower M/Msun= 27 and log10(L/Lsun)= 5.1. For these simulations, basic predictions for global mass-loss rates and velocity laws are given, and the influence from additional parameters like wind clumping and microturbulent speeds discussed. A key result is that our mass-loss rates are significantly lower than those predicted by the mass-loss recipes normally included in models of massive-star evolution. Conclusions: Our results support previous suggestions that Galactic O-star mass-loss rates may be overestimated in present-day stellar evolution models, and that new rates thus might be needed. Indeed, future papers in this series will incorporate our new models into such simulations of stellar evolution, extending the very first simulations presented here toward larger grids covering a range of metallicities, B supergiants across the bistability jump, and possibly also Wolf-Rayet stars.
We provide mass-loss rate predictions for O stars from Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. We calculate global (unified, hydrodynamic) model atmospheres of main sequence, giant, and supergiant stars for chemical composition corresponding to Magellanic Clouds. The models solve radiative transfer equation in comoving frame, kinetic equilibrium equations (also known as NLTE equations), and hydrodynamical equations from (quasi-)hydrostatic atmosphere to expanding stellar wind. The models allow us to predict wind density, velocity, and temperature (consequently also the terminal wind velocity and the mass-loss rate) just from basic global stellar parameters. As a result of their lower metallicity, the line radiative driving is weaker leading to lower wind mass-loss rates with respect to the Galactic stars. We provide a formula that fits the mass-loss rate predicted by our models as a function of stellar luminosity and metallicity. On average, the mass-loss rate scales with metallicity as $ dot Msim Z^{0.59}$. The predicted mass-loss rates are lower than mass-loss rates derived from H$alpha$ diagnostics and can be reconciled with observational results assuming clumping factor $C_text{c}=9$. On the other hand, the predicted mass-loss rates either agree or are slightly higher than the mass-loss rates derived from ultraviolet wind line profiles. The calculated ion{P}{v} ionization fractions also agree with values derived from observations for LMC stars with $T_text{eff}leq40,000,$K. Taken together, our theoretical predictions provide reasonable models with consistent mass-loss rate determination, which can be used for quantitative study of stars from Magellanic Clouds.
The properties of carbon stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) and their total dust production rates are predicted by fitting their spectral energy distributions (SED) over pre-computed grids of spectra reprocessed by dust. The grids are calculated as a function of the stellar parameters by consistently following the growth for several dust species in their circumstellar envelopes, coupled with a stationary wind. Dust radiative transfer is computed taking as input the results of the dust growth calculations. The optical constants for amorphous carbon are selected in order to reproduce different observations in the infrared and optical bands of textit{Gaia} Data Release 2. We find a tail of extreme mass-losing carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with low gas-to-dust ratios that is not present in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Typical gas-to-dust ratios are around $700$ for the extreme stars, but they can be down to $sim160$--$200$ and $sim100$ for a few sources in the SMC and in the LMC, respectively. The total dust production rate for the carbon star population is $sim 1.77pm 0.45times10^{-5}$~M$_odot$~yr$^{-1}$, for the LMC, and $sim 2.52pm 0.96 times 10^{-6}$~M$_odot$~yr$^{-1}$, for the SMC. The extreme carbon stars observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and their wind speed are studied in detail. For the most dust-obscured star in this sample the estimated mass-loss rate is $sim 6.3 times 10^{-5}$~M$_odot$~yr$^{-1}$. The grids of spectra are available at: https://ambrananni085.wixsite.com/ambrananni/online-data-1 and included in the SED-fitting python package for fitting evolved stars https://github.com/s-goldman/Dusty-Evolved-Star-Kit .
Despite their rarity, massive stars dominate the ecology of galaxies via their strong, radiatively-driven winds throughout their lives and as supernovae in their deaths. However, their evolution and subsequent impact on their environment can be significantly affected by the presence of a magnetic field. While recent studies indicate that about 7% of OB stars in the Milky Way host strong, stable, organised (fossil) magnetic fields at their surfaces, little is known about the fields of very massive stars, nor the magnetic properties of stars outside our Galaxy. We aim to continue searching for strong magnetic fields in a diverse set of massive and very massive stars (VMS) in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), and we evaluate the overall capability of FORS2 to usefully search for and detect stellar magnetic fields in extra-galactic environments. We have obtained FORS2 spectropolarimetry of a sample of 41 stars, which principally consist of spectral types B, O, Of/WN, WNh, and classical WR stars in the LMC and SMC. Four of our targets are Of?p stars; one of them was just recently discovered. Each spectrum was analysed to infer the longitudinal magnetic field. No magnetic fields were formally detected in our study, although Bayesian statistical considerations suggest that the Of?p star SMC159-2 is magnetic with a dipolar field of the order of 2.4 to 4.4kG. In addition, our first constraints of magnetic fields in VMS provide interesting insights into the formation of the most massive stars in the Universe.
We present results of our study of the infrared properties of massive stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are based on the Spitzer SAGE surveys of these galaxies. We have compiled catalogs of spectroscopically confirmed massive stars in each galaxy, as well as photometric catalogs for a subset of these stars that have infrared counterparts in the SAGE database, with uniform photometry from 0.3 to 24 microns in the UBVIJHKs+IRAC+MIPS24 bands. These catalogs enable a comparative study of infrared excesses of OB stars, classical Be stars, yellow and red supergiants, Wolf-Rayet stars, Luminous Blue Variables and supergiant B[e] stars, as a function of metallicity, and provide the first roadmaps for interpreting luminous, massive, resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies at infrared wavelengths.