On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160)  Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

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The Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

Aims. Many topical astrophysical research areas, such as the properties of planet host stars, the nature of the progenitors of different types of supernovae and gamma ray bursts, and the evolution of galaxies, require complete and homogeneous sets of stellar models at different metallicities in order to be studied during the whole of cosmic history. We present here a first set of models for solar metallicity, where the effects of rotation are accounted for in a homogeneous way.Methods. We computed a grid of 48 different stellar evolutionary tracks, both rotating and non-rotating, at Z  = 0.014, spanning a wide mass range from 0.8 to 120 M ⊙ . For each of the stellar masses considered, electronic tables provide data for 400 stages along the evolutionary track and at each stage, a set of 43 physical data are given. These grids thus provide an extensive and detailed data basis for comparisons with the observations. The rotating models start on the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) with a rotation rate υ ini /υ crit  = 0.4. The evolution is computed until the end of the central carbon-burning phase, the early asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase, or the core helium-flash for, respectively, the massive, intermediate, and both low and very low mass stars. The initial abundances are those deduced by Asplund and collaborators, which best fit the observed abundances of massive stars in the solar neighbourhood. We update both the opacities and nuclear reaction rates, and introduce new prescriptions for the mass-loss rates as stars approach the Eddington and/or the critical velocity. We account for both atomic diffusion and magnetic braking in our low-mass star models.Results. The present rotating models provide a good description of the average evolution of non-interacting stars. In particular, they reproduce the observed main-sequence width, the positions of the red giant and supergiant stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, the observed surface compositions and rotational velocities. Very interestingly, the enhancement of the mass loss during the red-supergiant stage, when the luminosity becomes supra-Eddington in some outer layers, help models above 15−20 M ⊙ to lose a significant part of their hydrogen envelope and evolve back into the blue part of the HR diagram. This result has interesting consequences for the blue to red supergiant ratio, the minimum mass for stars to become Wolf-Rayet stars, and the maximum initial mass of stars that explode as type II−P supernovae.

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Grids of stellar models with rotation - I. Models from 0.8 to 120 M⊙ at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014)

This is the first of a series of papers presenting the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST) project, a new comprehensive set of stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones computed using MESA, a state-of-the-art open-source 1D stellar evolution package. In this work, we present models with solar-scaled abundance ratios covering a wide range of ages ($5 \leq \rm \log(Age)\;[yr] \leq 10.3$), masses ($0.1 \leq M/M_{\odot} \leq 300$), and metallicities ($-2.0 \leq \rm [Z/H] \leq 0.5$). The models are self-consistently and continuously evolved from the pre-main sequence to the end of hydrogen burning, the white dwarf cooling sequence, or the end of carbon burning, depending on the initial mass. We also provide a grid of models evolved from the pre-main sequence to the end of core helium burning for $-4.0 \leq \rm [Z/H] < -2.0$. We showcase extensive comparisons with observational constraints as well as with some of the most widely used existing models in the literature. The evolutionary tracks and isochrones can be downloaded from the project website at this http URL

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-637X/823/2/102/pdf

Mesa isochrones and stellar tracks (mist). i. solar-scaled models

MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST). I: Solar-Scaled Models

Our understanding of massive star evolution is in flux due to recent upheavals in our view of mass loss and observations of a high binary fraction among O-type stars. Mass-loss rates for standard metallicity-dependent winds of hot stars are lower by a factor of 2–3 compared with rates adopted in modern stellar evolution codes, due to the influence of clumping on observed diagnostics. Weaker hot star winds shift the burden of H-envelope removal to the winds, pulsations, and eruptions of evolved supergiants, as well as binary mass transfer. Studies of stripped-envelope supernovae, in particular, require binary mass transfer. Dramatic examples of eruptive mass loss are seen in Type IIn supernovae, which have massive shells ejected just a few years earlier. These eruptions are a prelude to core collapse, and may signify severe instabilities in the latest nuclear burning phases. We encounter the predicament that the most important modes of mass loss are also the most uncertain, undermining the predictive power...

Mass Loss: Its Effect on the Evolution and Fate of High-Mass Stars

We have determined accurate values of the product of the mass-loss rate and the ion fraction of P+4, Mq(P+4), for a sample of 40 Galactic O-type stars by fitting stellar wind profiles to observations of the P v resonance doublet obtained with FUSE, ORFEUS BEFS, and Copernicus. When P+4 is the dominant ion in the wind [i.e., 0.5 less than or similar to q(P+4) <= 1],. Mq(P+4) approximates the mass-loss rate to within a factor of less than or similar to 2. Theory predicts that P+4 is the dominant ion in the winds of O7-O9.7 stars, although an empirical estimator suggests that the range O4-O7 may be more appropriate. However, we find that the mass-loss rates obtained from P v wind profiles are systematically smaller than those obtained from fits to H alpha emission profiles or radio free-free emission by median factors of similar to 130 (if P+4 is dominant between O7 and O9.7) or similar to 20 (if P+4 is dominant between O4 and O7). These discordant measurements can be reconciled if the winds of O stars in the relevant temperature range are strongly clumped on small spatial scales. We use a simplified two-component model to investigate the volume filling factors of the denser regions. This clumping implies that mass-loss rates determined from "rho(2)'' diagnostics have been systematically overestimated by factors of 10 or more, at least for a subset of O stars. Reductions in the mass-loss rates of this size have important implications for the evolution of massive stars and quantitative estimates of the feedback that hot-star winds provide to their interstellar environments.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/498560/pdf

The Discordance of Mass-Loss Estimates for Galactic O-Type Stars

Aims. We undertake an optical and ultraviolet spectroscopic analysis of a sample of 20 Galactic B0-B5 supergiants of luminosity classes Ia, Ib, lab, and II. Fundamental stellar parameters are obtained from optical diagnostics and a critical comparison of the model predictions to observed UV spectral features is made. Methods. Fundamental parameters (e.g., T eff , log L * , mass-loss rates and CNO abundances) are derived for individual stars using CMFGEN, a nLTE, line-blanketed model atmosphere code. The impact of these newly derived parameters on the Galactic B supergiant T eff scale, mass discrepancy, and wind-momentum luminosity relation is examined. Results. The B supergiant temperature scale derived here shows a reduction of about 1000-3000 K compared to previous results using unblanketed codes. Mass-loss rate estimates are in good agreement with predicted theoretical values, and all of the 20 B0-B5 supergiants analysed show evidence of CNO processing. A mass discrepancy still exists between spectroscopic and evolutionary masses, with the largest discrepancy occurring at log (L/L ⊙ ) ∼ 5.4. The observed WLR values calculated for B0-B0.7 supergiants are higher than predicted values, whereas the reverse is true for B1-B5 supergiants. This means that the discrepancy between observed and theoretical values cannot be resolved by adopting clumped (i.e., lower) mass-loss rates as for O stars. The most surprising result is that, although CMFGEN succeeds in reproducing the optical stellar spectrum accurately, it fails to precisely reproduce key UV diagnostics, such as the Nv and C IV P Cygni profiles. This problem arises because the models are not ionised enough and fail to reproduce the full extent of the observed absorption trough of the P Cygni profiles. Conclusions. Newly-derived fundamental parameters for early B supergiants are in good agreement with similar work in the field. The most significant discovery, however, is the failure of CMFGEN to predict the correct ionisation fraction for some ions. Such findings add further support to revising the current standard model of massive star winds, as our understanding of these winds is incomplete without a precise knowledge of the ionisation structure and distribution of clumping in the wind.

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Quantitative studies of the optical and UV spectra of Galactic early B supergiants - I. Fundamental parameters

Context. Massive stars play an important role in both cluster and galactic evolution and the rate at which they lose mass is a key driver of both their own evolution and their interaction with the environment up to and including their terminal SNe explosions. Young massive clusters provide an ideal opportunity to study a co-eval population of massive stars, where both their individual properties and the interaction with their environment can be studied in detail. 
Aims. We aim to study the constituent stars of the Galactic cluster Westerlund 1 in order to determine mass-loss rates for the diverse post-main sequence population of massive stars. 
Methods. To accomplish this we made 3mm continuum observations with the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array. 
Results. We detected emission from 50 stars in Westerlund 1, comprising all 21 Wolf-Rayets within the field of view, plus eight cool and 21 OB super-/hypergiants. Emission nebulae were associated with a number of the cool hypergiants while, unexpectedly, a number of hot stars also appear spatially resolved. 
Conclusions. We were able to measure the mass-loss rates for a unique population of massive post-main sequence stars at every stage of evolution, confirming a significant increase as stars transitioned from OB supergiant to WR states via LBV and/or cool hypergiant phases. Fortuitously, the range of spectral types exhibited by the OB supergiants provides a critical test of radiatively-driven wind theory and in particular the reality of the bi-stability jump. The extreme mass-loss rate inferred for the interacting binary Wd1-9 in comparison to other cluster members confirmed the key role binarity plays in massive stellar evolution. The presence of compact nebulae around a number of OB and WR stars is unexpected; by analogy to the cool super-/hypergiants we attribute this to confinement and sculpting of the stellar wind via interaction with the intra-cluster medium/wind. Given the morphology of core collapse SNe depend on the nature of the pre-explosion circumstellar environment, if this hypothesis is correct then the properties of the explosion depend not just on the progenitor, but also the environment in which it is located.

An ALMA 3 mm continuum census of Westerlund 1

We present empirically determined ionization conditions for the winds of 106 luminous B0 to B5 stars observed by IUE. The UV wind lines are modelled to extract products of mass-loss rates times ionization fractions ( u Mq i(w), where w = v/v∞ )f or N ,C  ,S i ,S i ,A l and C . We describe the general behaviour of the u Mq i(w) and their ratios, demonstrating that the wind ionization increases with distance from the star, contrary to recent findings for O star winds. Using empirical mass-loss rates (from Hα observations) and model prescriptions, we derive mean qi(w) values integrated over the wind, � qi� . Theseqiare quite small, never exceeding 15% for Al  or 2% for Si . This is surprising, since theqifor these ions clearly peak within the observed spectral range. We conclude that the lowqiarise because the � u Mq iare underestimated by the wind models, which assume that the outflows are smooth when they are, in fact, highly structured.

/pdf/the-ionization-structure-of-early-b-supergiant-winds-4rn88pkgak.pdf

R. K. Prinja

Papers

The Discordance of Mass-Loss Estimates for Galactic O-Type Stars

The Discordance of Mass-Loss Estimates for Galactic O-Type Stars

Quantitative studies of the optical and UV spectra of Galactic early B supergiants - I. Fundamental parameters

An ALMA 3 mm continuum census of Westerlund 1

The ionization structure of early-B supergiant winds