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Evolution of Wolf-Rayet stars as black hole progenitors
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Submitted 25 May 2021
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim Using the prescription from Nugis & Lamers the maximum stellar black hole is found to converge to a value of 20-30Msun, independent of host metallicity, however when utilising the new physically-motivated prescription from Sander & Vink there is no convergence to a maximum black hole mass value.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
Evolved Wolf-Rayet stars form a key aspect of massive star evolution, and their strong outflows determine their final fates. In this study, we calculate grids of stellar models for a wide range of initial masses at five metallicities (ranging from solar down to just 2% solar). We compare a recent hydrodynamically-consistent wind prescription with two earlier frequently-used wind recipes in stellar evolution and population synthesis modelling, and we present the ranges of maximum final masses at core He-exhaustion for each wind prescription and metallicity Z. Our model grids reveal qualitative differences in mass-loss behaviour of the wind prescriptions in terms of "convergence". Using the prescription from Nugis & Lamers the maximum stellar black hole is found to converge to a value of 20-30Msun, independent of host metallicity, however when utilising the new physically-motivated prescription from Sander & Vink there is no convergence to a maximum black hole mass value. The final mass is simply larger for larger initial He-star mass, which implies that the upper black hole limit for He-stars below the pair-instability gap is set by prior evolution with mass loss, or the pair instability itself. Quantitatively, we find the critical Z for pair-instability (Z_PI) to be as high as 50% Zsolar, corresponding to the host metallicity of the LMC. Moreover, while the Nugis & Lamers prescription would not predict any black holes above the approx 130Msun pair-instability limit, with Sander & Vink winds included, we demonstrate a potential channel for very massive helium stars to form such massive black holes at ~2% Zsolar or below.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | Evolved Wolf-Rayet stars form a key aspect of massive star evolution, and their strong outflows determine their final fates. | background 1.00 | 0.04 | 0.03 | asserted 1.00 |
| s1 | In this study, we calculate grids of stellar models for a wide range of initial masses at five metallicities (ranging from solar down to just 2% solar). | method 0.87 | 0.97 | 0.02 | asserted 0.94 |
| s2 | We compare a recent hydrodynamically-consistent wind prescription with two earlier frequently-used wind recipes in stellar evolution and population synthesis modelling, and we present the ranges of maximum final masses at core He-exhaustion for each wind prescription and metallicity Z. | method 0.66 | 0.94 | 0.05 | asserted 0.96 |
| s3 | Our model grids reveal qualitative differences in mass-loss behaviour of the wind prescriptions in terms of "convergence". | result 0.99 | 0.92 | 0.06 | asserted 1.00 |
| s4 | Using the prescription from Nugis & Lamers the maximum stellar black hole is found to converge to a value of 20-30Msun, independent of host metallicity, however when utilising the new physically-motivated prescription from Sander & Vink there is no convergence to a maximum black hole mass value. | result 1.00 | 0.91 | 0.40 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | The final mass is simply larger for larger initial He-star mass, which implies that the upper black hole limit for He-stars below the pair-instability gap is set by prior evolution with mass loss, or the pair instability itself. | interpretation 0.94 | 0.81 | 0.20 | hedged possibility 0.57 |
| s6 | Quantitatively, we find the critical Z for pair-instability (Z_PI) to be as high as 50% Zsolar, corresponding to the host metallicity of the LMC. | result 1.00 | 0.95 | 0.12 | asserted 0.99 |
| s7 | Moreover, while the Nugis & Lamers prescription would not predict any black holes above the approx 130Msun pair-instability limit, with Sander & Vink winds included, we demonstrate a potential channel for very massive helium stars to form such massive black holes at ~2% Zsolar or below. | result 0.97 | 0.93 | 0.29 | hedged possibility 0.56 |
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Original abstract
Evolved Wolf-Rayet stars form a key aspect of massive star evolution, and their strong outflows determine their final fates. In this study, we calculate grids of stellar models for a wide range of initial masses at five metallicities (ranging from solar down to just 2% solar). We compare a recent hydrodynamically-consistent wind prescription with two earlier frequently-used wind recipes in stellar evolution and population synthesis modelling, and we present the ranges of maximum final masses at core He-exhaustion for each wind prescription and metallicity Z. Our model grids reveal qualitative differences in mass-loss behaviour of the wind prescriptions in terms of "convergence". Using the prescription from Nugis & Lamers the maximum stellar black hole is found to converge to a value of 20-30Msun, independent of host metallicity, however when utilising the new physically-motivated prescription from Sander & Vink there is no convergence to a maximum black hole mass value. The final mass is simply larger for larger initial He-star mass, which implies that the upper black hole limit for He-stars below the pair-instability gap is set by prior evolution with mass loss, or the pair instability itself. Quantitatively, we find the critical Z for pair-instability (Z_PI) to be as high as 50% Zsolar, corresponding to the host metallicity of the LMC. Moreover, while the Nugis & Lamers prescription would not predict any black holes above the approx 130Msun pair-instability limit, with Sander & Vink winds included, we demonstrate a potential channel for very massive helium stars to form such massive black holes at ~2% Zsolar or below.
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4 arXiv papers cite this in 5 sentences
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We adopted the mass-loss prescription outlined in [ref] , aligning with the recently updated models of winds from He stars [ref] .
Diagnosing the Properties and Evolutionary Fates of Black Hole and Wolf-Rayet X-ray Binaries as Potential Gravitational Wave Sources for the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Network · Main physics adopted in · 1.00
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