[Mesa-users] Mass loss from binary system

[Brian Jackson]

Talha,
I believe (and other MESA users should correct me if I'm wrong) that
the controls you want to use are the beta and delta parameters
discussed here -
http://mesa.sourceforge.net/binary_controls_defaults.html#mass_transfer_controls.
It depends on how exactly you want the mass to be lost from the system
as to which of those parameters you would use.

Regarding locking the mass loss to a fixed rate, I think you'd have to
use_other_rlo_mdot flag discussed at the bottom of the webpage and use
one of the "other" hooks -
http://mesa.sourceforge.net/run_star_extras.html#toc-3.

Again, someone more knowledgeable than I should chime in and correct me.

Brian

On Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 7:38 AM, Talha Irfan <talhairfan at gatech.edu> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> What would be the correct options for a binary system to lose mass as a
> whole? The way I have it right now, the mass lost by the larger star is
> accreted completely onto the smaller one, and the net mass remains constant.
> How can I lock the accretion rate of the smaller star to a maximum value (in
> Msun/yr), and have the remaining mass lost by the donor be discarded from
> the system?
>
> Thank you!
>
> Talha Irfan Khawaja
> Physics '19
> Georgia Institute of Technology
>