English

Testing the predicted mass-loss bi-stability jump at radio wavelengths

Astrophysics 2009-11-13 v1

Abstract

In this study, we test the theoretically predicted mass-loss behaviour as a function of stellar effective temperature across the so-called `bi-stability' jump (BSJ). We gathered radio observations of 30 OB supergiants (O8-B3). We derived the radio mass-loss rates and wind efficiencies, and compared our results with Halpha mass-loss rates and predictions based on radiation-driven wind models. he wind efficiency shows the possible presence of a local maximum around an effective temperature of 21~000 K -- in qualitative agreement with predictions. We also find that the radio mass-loss rates show good agreement with empirical Halpha rates. However, the empirical mass-loss rates are larger than the predicted rates from radiation-driven wind theory for objects above the BSJ temperature, whilst they are smaller for the rest. A new wind momenta-luminosity relation for O8-B0 stars has been derived.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0703577,
  title  = {Testing the predicted mass-loss bi-stability jump at radio wavelengths},
  author = {P. Benaglia and J. S. Vink and J. Marti and J. Maiz Apellaniz and B. Koribalski and P. A. Crowther},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0703577},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

13 pages, 13 figures, A&A