Stellar Evolution with Pulsation-Driven Mass Loss: The Case of LMC Cepheids

TL;DR

This paper investigates how pulsation-driven mass loss affects the mass discrepancy problem in LMC Cepheids, suggesting it is a significant factor but with unresolved metallicity dependence issues.

Contribution

It introduces stellar evolution models incorporating pulsation-driven mass loss to address the Cepheid mass discrepancy.

Findings

Mass loss significantly contributes to the mass discrepancy.

Uncertainty remains about the metallicity dependence of mass loss.

Pulsation-driven mass loss impacts stellar evolution models.

Abstract

The Cepheid mass discrepancy, the difference between mass estimates from stellar pulsation and stellar evolution models, is a long standing challenge for the understanding of stellar astrophysics. We discuss the current state of the mass discrepancy and test the role of pulsation-driven mass loss in state-of-the-art stellar evolution calculations of Large Magellanic Cepheids in resolving it. We find that Cepheid mass loss is a significant contributor to the mass discrepancy, but it is not clear if the metallicity dependence of Cepheid mass loss is consistent with the measured metallicity dependence of the mass discrepancy.