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X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity. III. Terminal wind speeds of ULLYSES massive stars

08-2024

Hawcroft, C.  ; Sana, H. ; Mahy, L.  ; Sundqvist, J. O. ; de Koter, A. ; et al

X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity. III. Terminal wind speeds of ULLYSES massive stars

 

Abstract :

Context. The winds of massive stars have a significant impact on stellar evolution and on the surrounding medium. The maximum speed reached by these outflows, the terminal wind speed v∞, is a global wind parameter and an essential input for models of stellar atmospheres and feedback. With the arrival of the ULLYSES programme, a legacy UV spectroscopic survey with the Hubble Space Telescope, we have the opportunity to quantify the wind speeds of massive stars at sub-solar metallicity (in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, 0.5 Z☉ and 0.2 Z☉, respectively) at an unprecedented scale. 
Aims: We empirically quantify the wind speeds of a large sample of OB stars, including supergiants, giants, and dwarfs at sub-solar metallicity. Using these measurements, we investigate trends of v∞ with a number of fundamental stellar parameters, namely effective temperature (Teff), metallicity (Z), and surface escape velocity vesc. 
Methods: We empirically determined v∞ for a sample of 149 OB stars in the Magellanic Clouds either by directly measuring the maximum velocity shift of the absorption component of the C IV λλ1548-1550 line profile, or by fitting synthetic spectra produced using the Sobolev with exact integration method. Stellar parameters were either collected from the literature, obtained using spectral-type calibrations, or predicted from evolutionary models. 
Results: We find strong trends of v∞ with Teff and vesc when the wind is strong enough to cause a saturated P Cygni profile in C IV λλ1548-1550. We find evidence for a metallicity dependence on the terminal wind speed v∞ ∝ Z0.22±0.03 when we compared our results to previous Galactic studies. 
Conclusions: Our results suggest that Teff rather than vesc should be used as a straightforward empirical prediction of v∞ and that the observed Z dependence is steeper than suggested by earlier works.


 

Publication: Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 688, id.A105, 19 pp.
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202245588
Bibcode: 2024A&A...688A.105H
Keywords: stars: atmospheres; stars: early-type; stars: massive; stars: winds; outflows; Magellanic Clouds; techniques: spectroscopic; Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics; Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies

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