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Mass conservation and rapid mass loss on the main sequence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

T. J. Mazurek*
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin

Extract

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The rapid mass loss observed in O stars can affect their evolution dramatically if it takes place during core hydrogen burning on the main sequence. Conti has suggested that this is the case for the brightest Of stars, and that these stars evolve into Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. Support for this scenario comes from the similarity in the spectra of the Of and WR stars, and from the observed helium enrichment of Wolf-Rayet WN stars along with the correlation of the latter with the most luminous O stars. If the most massive Of stars evolve to WN stars of relatively low mass, one needs to determine the range of zero-age stellar masses where such an evolution occurs. This communication abstracts some observational evidence that bears on the question of the minimum zero-age mass for rapid mass loss on the main sequence. It then summarizes the author's investigation of a model for mass loss where photospheric acoustic waves control the flow rate.

Type
Session 6: Evolution with Mass Loss: Single Stars
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1979 

References

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