Using polarization to study the winds of massive stars
Abstract
The topic of wind-clumping has been the subject of much activity in recent years, due to the impact that it can have on derived mass-loss rates. Here we present an alternative method of investigating wind-clumping, that of polarimetry. We present simulations of the polarization produced by a clumpy wind, and argue that the observations may be reproduced just by statistical deviations from spherical symmetry when the outflow is only slightly fragmented. Here, the polarization scales with , which is consistent with observations of LBVs, WRs and O supergiants. Finally, we find clumping factors in the inner 2 of , and speculate as to the clumping stratification of hot stars.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0609368,
title = {Using polarization to study the winds of massive stars},
author = {Ben Davies and Jorick S. Vink and Rene D. Oudmaijer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0609368},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
8 pages, 6 figs, to appear in proceedings of 'Mass loss from stars and the evolution of stellar clusters'