MESA-QUEST: Modeling Quasi-Stars in MESA

TL;DR

This paper introduces MESA-QUEST, a new toolkit integrated into the MESA stellar evolution code, enabling detailed modeling of quasi-stars to better understand supermassive black hole formation.

Contribution

It adapts quasi-star modeling methods from the Cambridge STARS code into MESA, enhancing simulation detail and accessibility for studying supermassive black hole seeds.

Findings

MESA-QUEST allows detailed quasi-star simulations.

The toolkit is publicly available for researchers.

Enhanced modeling capabilities for supermassive black hole formation.

Abstract

Supermassive black hole formation remains an unsolved problem. Quasi-stars have been suggested as a viable heavy-seeding mechanism. In this work, we implement methods for modeling quasi-stars previously used with the Cambridge STARS code into the 1D stellar evolution code MESA. The computational capabilities of MESA allow for more detailed simulations of quasi-star evolution due to its modularity and the ease of implementing of new physical processes and controls. Our implementation, the MESA Quasi-star Evolutionary Simulation Toolkit (MESA-QUEST), is available in a publicly accessible repository.