Improving 1D stellar atmosphere models with insights from multi-dimensional simulations I. 1D vs 2D stratifications and spectral comparison for O stars

TL;DR

This study compares 1D and 2D stellar atmosphere models for O stars, demonstrating that including turbulent pressure and turbulence in 1D models improves their accuracy in density stratification and spectral diagnostics, addressing discrepancies in mass estimates.

Contribution

It introduces a method to incorporate turbulent pressure into 1D models based on 2D simulation insights, enhancing model fidelity for massive stars.

Findings

Including turbulent pressure improves density stratification accuracy.

Turbulence in models can reconcile mass discrepancy issues.

Adjusting mass-loss rates affects envelope extension and temperature.

Abstract

We compare current 1D and multi-dimensional atmosphere modelling approaches for massive stars to understand their strengths and shortcomings. We calculate averaged stratifications from selected 2D calculations for O stars -- corresponding to the spectral types O8, O4, and O2 -- to approximate them with 1D stellar atmosphere models using the PoWR model atmosphere code and assuming a fixed $\beta-$law for the wind regime. We then study the effects of our approximations and assumptions on current spectral diagnostics. In particular, we focus on the impact of an additional turbulent pressure in the subsonic layers of the 1D models. To match the 2D averages, the 1D stellar atmosphere models need to account for turbulent pressure in the hydrostatic equation. Moreover, an adjustment of the connection point between the (quasi-)hydrostatic regime and the wind regime is required. The improvement between the density stratification of 1D model and 2D average can be further increased if the mass-loss rate of the 1D model is not identical to those of the 2D simulation, but typically $\sim0.2\,$dex higher. Especially for the early type star, this implies a significantly more extended envelope with a lower effective temperature. Already the inclusion of a constant turbulence term in the solution of the hydrostatic equation sufficiently reproduces the 2D-averaged model density stratifications. The addition of a significant turbulent motion also smoothens the slope of the radiative acceleration term in the (quasi-)hydrostatic domain, with several potential implications on the total mass-loss rate inferred from 1D modelling. Concerning the spectral synthesis, the addition of a turbulence term in the hydrostatic equation mimics the effect of a lower surface gravity, potentially presenting a solution to the ``mass discrepancy problem'' between the evolutionary and spectroscopy mass determinations.