[Mesa-users] Initiating Mass Loss in Massive Star Model

[Amedeo Romagnolo]

Hi Shaquann,

You can interpret the scaling factors in different ways.

The Dutch winds are the *canon* prescription for winds in MESA, but as any
other wind prescription they are far from being *proper*.

These scaling factors are implemented as a form of quick calibration for
what you need to simulate. For instance, at Solar metallicity we know that
Dutch winds do lose too much mass during main sequence, if compared to
current observations and theoretical understanding of clumped winds, so you
might want to set...say...a Vink scaling factor of 0.3 or 0.5 (clumped
winds were found to be 2-3 times weaker, Mdot-wise, than homogeneous ones)

Also, being calibration controls, the scaling factors are not necessarily
just a reduction. Depending on what you are looking for (e.g. LBV mass loss
rates) you might need to increase them for specific periods of the
evolution of the star.

The highlight, all things considered, is that Dutch(-like) winds
prescriptions are the standard in many 1D stellar models (not only limited
to MESA), but also a bit outdated, so if you want to use them, these
scaling factors are an easy way to calibrate your mass loss rates without
writing a new prescription on your own :)

Hope this helps.

Cheers and have a nice beginning of the week,

Amedeo Romagnolo

On Mon, 25 Mar 2024, 06:05 Shaquann Seadrow via Mesa-users, <
mesa-users at lists.mesastar.org> wrote:

> Dear Mesa users,
>
> I am currently making modifications to a 20 solar mass model. I am
> exploring how to initiate winds via the 'Dutch' routine. I noticed that
> there are these "_scaling_factor" controls. I wanted know if this is more
> of an artificial 'tweak' to the mass loss (ie 0.0 = no loss, 1.0 =
>  "normal" mass loss under the proper relation, 0> scale_factor <1 is a
> reduction, etc). I look forward to your reply.
>
> Best,
> Shaquann
>
> --
> Shaquann S. Seadrow
> PhD. Candidate
> Dept. of Physics & Astronomy
> University of Delaware
>
> _______________________________________________
> mesa-users at lists.mesastar.org
> https://lists.mesastar.org/mailman/listinfo/mesa-users
>
>
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