Related papers: Predictions of variable mass loss for Luminous Blu…
We present the results of Monte Carlo mass-loss predictions for massive stars covering a wide range of stellar parameters. We critically test our predictions against a range of observed mass-loss rates -- in light of the recent discussions…
We suggest that the mass lost during the evolution of very massive stars may be dominated by optically thick, continuum-driven outbursts or explosions, instead of by steady line-driven winds. In order for a massive star to become a WR star,…
Most stars will experience episodes of substantial mass loss at some point in their lives. For very massive stars, mass loss dominates their evolution, although the mass loss rates are not known exactly, particularly once the star has left…
The discrepancies between observations and theoretical predictions of cataclysmic variables (CVs) suggest that there exists unknown angular momentum loss mechanism(s) besides magnetic braking and gravitational radiation. Mass loss due to…
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,…
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are characterized by semi-periodic episodes of enhanced mass-loss, or outburst. The cause of these outbursts has thus far been a mystery. One explanation is that they are initiated by kappa-effect pulsations…
Our understanding of massive star evolution is in flux, due to recent upheavals in our view of mass loss, and observations of a high binary fraction among O-type stars. Mass-loss rates for standard metallicity-dependent winds of hot stars…
I present the results of radiation-driven mass-loss predictions for hot stars of all mass. Mass loss is an important aspect for the evolution of massive stars, the rotational properties of the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts, and is…
I discuss observational evidence -- independent of the direct spectral diagnostics of stellar winds themselves -- suggesting that mass-loss rates for O stars need to be revised downward by roughly a factor of three or more, in line with…
(Shortened) Luminous blue variable stars (LBVs) form dust as a result of episodic, violent mass loss. To investigate their contribution as dust producers in the Magellanic Clouds, we analyse 31 LBVs from a recent census. We built a…
We discuss an interesting feature of the distribution of luminous blue variables on the H-R diagram, and we propose a connection with the bistability jump in the winds of early-type supergiants. There appears to be a deficiency of quiescent…
We investigate the mass loss of highly evolved, low- and intermediate mass stars and stellar samples with subsolar metallicity. We give a qualitative as well as quantitative description which can be applied to LMC/SMC-type stellar…
[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…
Massive stars lose a large fraction of their mass to radiation-driven winds throughout their entire life. These outflows impact both the life and death of these stars and their surroundings. Theoretical mass-loss rates of hot, massive stars…
We use the analysis of the heavy element abundances (C, N, O, S) in circumstellar nebulae around Luminous Blue Variables to infer the evolutionary phase in which the material has been ejected. (1) We discuss the different effects that may…
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…
Radiation-driven winds are ubiquitous in massive stars, but in Very Massive Stars (VMSs), mass loss dominates their evolution, chemical yields, and ultimate fate. Theoretical predictions have often relied on extrapolations of O star…
Variable B supergiants (BSGs) constitute a heterogeneous group of stars with complex photometric and spectroscopic behaviours. They exhibit mass-loss variations and experience different types of oscillation modes, and there is growing…
We study the origin of the observed bi-stability jump in the terminal velocity of the winds of supergiants near spectral type B1. To this purpose, we have calculated a grid of wind models and mass-loss rates for these stars. The models show…
The most massive evolved stars (above 50 M_sun) undergo a phase of extreme mass loss in which their evolution is reversed from a redward to a blueward motion in the HRD. In this phase the stars are known as Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs)…