Related papers: Optically-thick Structure in Early B Type Supergia…
The effects of gravitational settling and radiative levitation in the stellar atmospheres and envelopes of subdwarf B (sdB) stars strongly depend on the presence of weak winds. In the paper the existence of weak radiatively driven winds is…
(Abridged) The behaviour of mass loss across bi-stability jump is a key uncertainty in models of massive stars. While an increase in mass loss is theoretically predicted, this has so far not been observationally confirmed. However,…
The stellar winds of massive stars show large changes in mass-loss rates and terminal velocities during their evolution from O-star through the Luminous Blue Variable phase to the Wolf-Rayet phase. The luminosity remains approximately…
Context. The first magnetic fields in O- and B-type stars that do not belong to the Bp-star class, have been discovered. The cyclic UV wind-line variability, which has been observed in a significant fraction of early-type stars, is likely…
We present optical studies of the physical and wind properties, plus CNO chemical abundances, of 25 O9.5-B3 Galactic supergiants. We employ non-LTE, line blanketed, extended model atmospheres, which provide a modest downward revision in the…
Context. Mass-loss, occurring through radiation driven supersonic winds, is a key issue throughout the evolution of massive stars. Two outstanding problems are currently challenging the theory of radiation-driven winds: wind clumping and…
We present a simple analytical method to describe the structure of a spherically expanding envelope with strong mass outflow. The structure is consistently connected to the hydrostatic stellar interior and provides an adequate description…
We have obtained HST and ground-based observations of a sample of 20 O-type stars in the LMC and SMC, including six of the hottest massive stars known (subtypes O2-3) in the R136 cluster. In general, these data include (a) the HST UV…
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 use ultraviolet space-based (FUSE, HST) and optical/IR ground-based (2.3m MSSSO, NTT) spectroscopy to determine the physical parameters of six WC4-type Wolf-Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Stellar parameters are revised…
Mass loss is a key process in the evolution of massive stars, and must be understood quantitatively to be successfully included in broader astrophysical applications. In this review, we discuss various aspects of radiation driven mass loss,…
The mass loss from Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars is of fundamental importance for the final fate of massive stars and their chemical yields. Its Z-dependence is discussed in relation to the formation of long-duration Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and the…
Small-scale inhomogeneities, or `clumping', in the winds of hot, massive stars are conventionally included in spectral analyses by assuming optically thin clumps. To reconcile investigations of different diagnostics using this microclumping…
Metal-poor massive stars drive the evolution of low-mass galaxies, both locally and at high redshift. However, quantifying the feedback they impart to their local surroundings remains uncertain because models of stellar evolution, mass…
Over much of the initial mass function, stars are destined to become luminous and cool red giants. They may then be able to produce dust in an atmosphere which has been elevated by strong radial pulsations, and hence drive a wind. The…
Extended spectroscopic datasets of several late-B stars of luminosity class Ia revealed the presence of similar peculiarities in their H alpha profiles, which might be interpreted as indications of deviation from spherically symmetric,…
We present new results obtained with the VLT GIRAFFE for a large sample of B and Be stars belonging to the Magellanic Clouds, i.e. at low metallicity. First, we show the effects of the metallicity of the environment on their rotation…
Most types of massive stars display X-ray emission that is affected by the properties of their stellar winds. Single non-magnetic OB stars have an X-ray luminosity that scales with their bolometric luminosity and their emission is thought…
A small subset of Galactic O-stars possess surface magnetic fields that alter the outflowing stellar wind by magnetically confining it. Key to the magnetic confinement is that it induces rotational modulation of spectral lines over the full…
Mass fluxes J are computed for the extragalactic O stars investigated by Tramper et al. (2011; TSKK). For one early-type O star, computed and observed rates agree within errors. However, for two late-type O stars, theoretical mass-loss…