Related papers: Quantitative analysis of resolved X-ray emission l…
We have determined accurate values of the product of the mass-loss rate and the ion fraction of P^{4+}, Mdot q(P^{4+}), for a sample of 40 Galactic O-type stars by fitting stellar-wind profiles to observations of the P V resonance doublet…
We study the stellar and wind properties of a sample of Galactic O dwarfs to track the conditions under which weak winds (i.e mass loss rates lower than ~ 1e-8 Msol/yr) appear. The sample is composed of low and high luminosity dwarfs…
Mass-loss rates currently in use for hot, massive stars have recently been seriously questioned, mainly because of the effects of wind clumping. We investigate the impact of clumping on diagnostic ultraviolet resonance and optical…
Recent studies of O-type stars demonstrated that discrepant mass-loss rates are obtained when different diagnostic methods are employed - fitting the unsaturated UV resonance lines (e.g. P v) gives drastically lower values than obtained…
[Abridged] Clumping in the radiation-driven winds of hot, massive stars affects the derivation of synthetic observables across the electromagnetic spectrum. We implement a formalism for treating wind clumping - in particular the…
UV wind line variability in OB stars appears to be universal. To quantify this variation and to estimate its effect on a mass loss rate determined from a single observation, we use the IUE archive to identify non-peculiar OB stars with well…
Accurate mass-loss rates and terminal velocities from massive stars winds are essential to obtain synthetic spectra from radiative transfer calculations and to determine the evolutionary path of massive stars. From a theoretical point of…
Context. Zeta Pup is the X-ray brightest O-type star of the sky. This object was regularly observed with the RGS instrument aboard XMM-Newton for calibration purposes, leading to an unprecedented set of high-quality spectra. Aims. We have…
[Abridged] We develop and benchmark a fast and easy-to-use effective-opacity formalism for line and continuum radiative transfer in an accelerating two-component clumpy medium. The formalism bridges the limits of optically thin and thick…
Building upon a previous analysis of P V wind lines in LMC O stars, we analyze the P V wind lines in a sample of Galactic O stars which have empirical mass loss rates determined from either their radio fluxes or H alpha profiles. Since the…
Some studies have claimed a universal stellar upper-mass limit of 150 Msun. A factor that is often overlooked is that there might be a difference between the current and initial masses of the most massive stars, as a result of mass loss. We…
We consider the consequences of appreciable line optical depth for the profile shape of X-ray emission lines formed in stellar winds. The hot gas is thought to arise in distributed wind shocks, and the line formation is predominantly via…
Mass loss governs the evolution of massive stars and shapes the stellar surroundings. To quantify the impact of the stellar winds we need to know the exact mass-loss rates; however, empirical constraints on the rates are hampered by limited…
The winds of stars with very specific temperatures and luminosities are ideal for determining the magnitude and nature of mass loss in OB stars. I identify these stars and analyze their wind lines. The results are discussed within the…
We present XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer observations of pairs of X-ray emission line profiles from the O star Zeta Pup that originate from the same He-like ion. The two profiles in each pair have different shapes and cannot…
Stellar evolution models of massive stars are very sensitive to the adopted mass-loss scheme. The magnitude and evolution of mass-loss rates significantly affect the main sequence evolution, and the properties of post-main sequence objects,…
[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…
Throughout their lives, short period exoplanets (<100 days) experience X-ray and extreme-UV (XUV) stellar irradiation that can heat and photoionize planets' upper atmospheres, driving transonic outflows. This photoevaporative mass loss…
Small-scale clumping in the winds of hot, massive stars is conventionally included in spectral analyses by assuming optically thin clumps, a void inter-clump medium, and a smooth velocity field. To reconcile investigations of different…
We develop a model for the wind properties of cool main-sequence stars, which comprises their wind ram pressures, mass fluxes, and terminal wind velocities. The wind properties are determined through a polytropic magnetised wind model,…