[Mesa-users] Advice on wind prescriptions for very massive stars

[Natalija M]

Dear MESA users,

I am modeling the evolution of rotating very massive stars (100–500 Msun)
with MESA v26.4.1. The current models have been computed at solar
metallicity, with the goal of extending the study to other metallicities as
well, and I would appreciate some advice regarding the most appropriate
wind prescriptions.

The models were initially computed using the standard Dutch wind scheme. In
these models, the Nugis & Lamers prescription becomes active already during
core hydrogen burning, so the stars enter a WR/WNh-like wind regime while
still on the main sequence. Since these stars evolve close to the Eddington
limit and the Dutch scheme was not specifically developed for very massive
stars in this regime, I would like to know whether another treatment is
recommended.

I reviewed the available MESA options and recent literature. Grafener &
Hamann (2008) is intended for WR/WNh stars with optically thick winds,
while Bjorklund et al. (2022) provides a modern alternative to Vink et al.
(2001) for hot O-star winds. MESA also includes the optional
super_eddington_wind treatment, which introduces an additional parametrized
mass-loss contribution for super-Eddington models. However, I am not sure
whether this approach is commonly adopted for very massive star evolution
or whether it is mainly intended as a simplified treatment of
super-Eddington phases.

I would like to ask which wind prescription, or combination of
prescriptions, available in MESA is considered appropriate for modeling
stars in this mass range, or whether implementing a dedicated VMS
prescription would be recommended. I would also appreciate any advice
regarding the treatment of the LBV phase in very massive stars. Is there a
preferred wind prescription or approach for this evolutionary phase?

Any suggestions or references would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very
much for your time!

Best regards,

Natalija Mladenović
Astronomical Observatory Belgrade
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.mesastar.org/pipermail/mesa-users/attachments/20260722/6b15b8a5/attachment.htm>