Open AccessThe theory of steady‐state super‐Eddington winds and its application to novae
Author(s) -
Shaviv Nir J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04574.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , steady state (chemistry) , atmosphere (unit) , instability , eddington luminosity , nova (rocket) , luminosity , astronomy , mechanics , meteorology , galaxy , chemistry , aeronautics , engineering
We present a model for steady‐state winds of systems with super‐Eddington luminosities. These radiatively driven winds are expected to be optically thick and clumpy as they arise from an instability‐driven porous atmosphere. The model is then applied to derive the mass loss observed in bright classical novae. The main results are as follows. (i) A general relation between the mass‐loss rate and the total luminosity in super‐Eddington systems. (ii) A natural explanation of the long‐duration super‐Eddington outflows that are clearly observed in at least two cases (Novae LMC 1988 #1 and FH Serpentis). (iii) A qualitative agreement between the prediction and observations of the mass loss and temperature evolution. (iv) An agreement between the predicted average integrated mass loss of novae as a function of white dwarf mass and its observations. (v) A natural explanation for the ‘transition phase’ of novae. (vi) Agreement with η Carinae, which was used to double check the theory: the prediction for the mass shed in the star's great eruption agrees with observations to within the measurement error.