Mass Transfer by Stellar Wind

TL;DR

This paper reviews the process of mass transfer via stellar wind in binary systems, highlighting differences from traditional models and discussing implications for system evolution and observational evidence.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of wind accretion in binaries, contrasting it with Bondi-Hoyle approximation and exploring its effects on orbital dynamics and stellar properties.

Findings

Wind accretion differs significantly from Bondi-Hoyle predictions.

Impacts on orbital evolution and chemical enrichment are substantial.

Recent observations offer new constraints on mass transfer processes.

Abstract

I review the process of mass transfer in a binary system through a stellar wind, with an emphasis on systems containing a red giant. I show how wind accretion in a binary system is different from the usually assumed Bondi-Hoyle approximation, first as far as the flow's structure is concerned, but most importantly, also for the mass accretion and specific angular momentum loss. This has important implications on the evolution of the orbital parameters. I also discuss the impact of wind accretion, on the chemical pollution and change in spin of the accreting star. The last section deals with observations and covers systems that most likely went through wind mass transfer: barium and related stars, symbiotic stars and central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPN). The most recent observations of cool CSPN progenitors of barium stars, as well as of carbon-rich post-common envelope systems, are providing unique constraints on the mass transfer processes.