Mass loss on the red giant branch: plasmoid-driven winds above the RGB bump

TL;DR

This paper explores a plasmoid-driven wind mechanism above the RGB bump, suggesting it can explain observed mass loss rates and wind velocity profiles in evolved giant stars.

Contribution

It applies the Pneuman formalism to stellar winds, providing a proof of concept that plasmoid acceleration can account for mass loss in cool giants.

Findings

Mass loss rates can be matched using plausible parameters.

Wind velocity profiles vary with plasmoid fraction, matching observations.

The model offers a potential explanation for wind acceleration mechanisms.

Abstract

The onset of cool massive winds in evolved giants is correlated with an evolutionary feature on the red giant branch known as the bump. Also at the bump, shear instability in the star leads to magnetic fields that occur preferentially on small length scales. Pneuman (1983) has suggested that the emergence of small scale flux tubes in the Sun can give rise to enhanced acceleration of the solar wind as a result of plasmoid acceleration (the melon seed mechanism). In this paper, we examine the Pneuman formalism to determine if it may shed some light on the process that drives mass loss from stars above the bump. Because we do not currently have detailed information for some of the relevant physical parameters, we are not yet able to derive a detailed model. Instead, our goal in this paper is to explore a proof of concept. Using parameters that are known to be plausible in cool giants, we find that the total mass loss rate from such stars can be replicated. Moreover, we find that the radial profile of the wind speed in such stars can be steep or shallow depending on the fraction of the mass loss which is contained in the plasmoids. This is consistent with empirical data which indicate that the velocity profiles of winds from cool giants range from shallow to steep.