# Probing the weak wind phenomenon in Galactic O-type giants

## TL;DR

This study investigates the weak wind phenomenon in Galactic late O giants, revealing that observed mass-loss rates are significantly lower than theoretical predictions, with implications for stellar evolution models.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectroscopic analysis of O8-O9.5III giants, demonstrating that their wind mass-loss rates are much lower than standard models suggest.

## Key findings

- Observed mass-loss rates are 0.9-2.3 dex lower than theoretical predictions.
- Predicted mass-loss rates from first principles better match observations for some stars.
- Weak winds are confirmed beyond the O8-9.5V class, especially around luminosity log(L*/L_sun)~5.2.

## Abstract

Analyses of Galactic late O dwarfs (O8-O9.5V) raised the `weak wind problem': spectroscopic mass loss rates ($\dot{M}$) are up to two orders of magnitude lower than the theoretical values. We investigated the stellar and wind properties of Galactic late O giants (O8-O9.5III). We performed a spectroscopic analysis of nine O8-O9.5III stars in the ultraviolet (UV) and optical regions using the model atmosphere code CMFGEN. From the UV region, we found $\dot{M}$ $\sim$ $10^{-8}-10^{-9}$ $\mathrm{M_\odot}$ $\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$ overall. This is lower by $\sim 0.9 - 2.3$ dex than the predicted values based on the (global) conservation of energy in the wind. The mass-loss rates predicted from first principles, based on the moving reversing layer theory, agree better with our findings, but it fails to match the spectroscopic $\dot{M}$ for the most luminous OB stars. The region of $\log(L_\star/L_\odot) \sim 5.2$ is critical for both sets of predictions in comparison with the spectroscopic mass-loss rates. CMFGEN models with the predicted $\dot{M}$ (the former one) fail to reproduce the UV wind lines for all the stars of our sample. We reproduce the observed H$\alpha$ profiles of four objects with our $\dot{M}$ derived from the UV. Hence, low $\dot{M}$ values (weak winds) are favored to fit the observations (UV + optical), but discrepancies between the UV and H$\alpha$ diagnostics remain for some objects. Our results indicate weak winds beyond the O8-9.5V class, since the region of $\log(L_\star/L_\odot) \sim 5.2$ is indeed critical to the weak wind phenomenon. Since O8-O9.5III stars are more evolved than O8-9.5V, evolutionary effects do not seem to play a role in the onset of the weak wind phenomenon. These findings support that the $\dot{M}$ (for low luminosity O stars) in use in the majority of modern stellar evolution codes must be severely overestimated up to the end of the H-burning phase.