Instability, finite amplitude pulsation and mass-loss in models of massive OB-type stars

TL;DR

This paper investigates the causes of variability and mass-loss in massive OB stars, identifying strange mode instabilities through linear stability analysis and non-linear simulations, revealing finite amplitude pulsations and potential wind-driving mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analysis of stellar instabilities in massive OB stars, linking them to pulsations and mass-loss, which was not comprehensively studied before.

Findings

Finite amplitude pulsations with hours to 100 days periods

Mass-loss rates between 10^{-9} and 10^{-4} solar masses per year

Strange mode instabilities can drive stellar variability and winds

Abstract

Variability and mass-loss are common phenomena in massive OB-type stars. It is argued that they are caused by violent strange mode instabilities identified in corresponding stellar models. We present a systematic linear stability analysis with respect to radial perturbations of massive OB-type stars with solar chemical composition and masses between 23 to 100 M$_{\odot}$. For selected unstable stellar models, we perform non-linear simulations of the evolution of the instabilities into the non-linear regime. Finite amplitude pulsations with periods in the range between hours and 100 days are found to be the final result of the instabilities. The pulsations are associated with a mean acoustic luminosity which can be the origin of a pulsationally driven wind. Corresponding mass-loss rates lie in the range between 10$^{-9}$ and 10$^{-4}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ and may thus affect the evolution of massive stars.