Influence of a stellar wind on the evolution of a star of 30 M/sub sun/

Journal Article · Mon Sep 15 04:00:00 EDT 1980 · Astrophys. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/158302· OSTI ID:6919080

Stothers, R; Chin, C

A coarse grid of theoretical evolutionary tracks has been computed for a star of 30 M/sub sun/, in an attempt to delineate the role of mass loss in the star's evolution during core helium burning. For all of the tracks, Cox-Stewart opacities have been adopted, and the free parameters have included the rate of mass loss, criterion for convection, and initial chemical composition. With the use of the Schwarzschild criterion, the star suffers little mass loss during core helium burning and remains almost to the end, a blue supergiant, well separated from main-sequence stars on the H-R diagram. With the use of the Ledoux criterion, the same consequences are obtained only in the case of a relatively low initial hydrogen or initial metals abundance. Otherwise, the star evolves, first, into a red supergiant, whereupon rapid mass loss must be assumed to take place, if the observed paucity of very bright red supergiants is to be accounted for. The stellar remnant then consists of little more than the original helium core, and may appear, for a time, bluer than equally luminous main-sequence stars, provided that the the initial hydrogen and metals abundances are normal. Thus, a wide variety of possible evolutionary tracks can be obtained for an initial mass of 30 M/sub sun/ with reasonable choices of the free parameters.

• Research Organization: Institute for Space Studies, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• OSTI ID: 6919080
• Journal Information: Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 242:3; ISSN ASJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CONVECTION
DIAGRAMS
GIANT STARS
HELIUM BURNING
HERTZSPRUNG-RUSSELL DIAGRAM
LUMINOSITY
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
STAR BURNING
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
STELLAR WINDS
SUPERGIANT STARS