Radiation-Driven Stellar Eruptions

Abstract

Very massive stars occasionally expel material in colossal eruptions, driven by continuum radiation pressure rather than blast waves. Some of them rival supernovae in total radiative output, and the mass loss is crucial for subsequent evolution. Some are supernova impostors, including SN precursor outbursts, while others are true SN events shrouded by material that was ejected earlier. Luminous Blue Variable stars (LBV's) are traditionally cited in relation with giant eruptions, though this connection is not well established. After four decades of research, the fundamental causes of giant eruptions and LBV events remain elusive. This review outlines the basic relevant physics, with a brief summary of essential observational facts. Reasons are described for the spectrum and emergent radiation temperature of an opaque outflow. Many proposed mechanisms are noted for instabilities in the star's photosphere, in its iron opacity peak zones, and in its central region. Some of the remarks and conjectures here have not yet become familiar in the published literature.

Improved version of a review in e-book "Luminous Stars in Nearby Galaxies"

References in corpus (10)

• Pulsational Pair-Instability Supernovae
• Pulsational pair instability as an explanation for the most luminous supernovae
• SN 2009kn - the twin of the Type IIn supernova 1994W
• Possible Implications of Mass Accretion in Eta Carinae
• The Early Spectra of Eta Carinae 1892 to 1941 and the Onset of Its High Excitation Emission Spectrum
• SN Hunt 248: a super-Eddington outburst from a massive cool hypergiant
• Eta Carinae's 2014.6 Spectroscopic Event: Clues to the Long-term Recovery from its Great Eruption
• Pulsations as a Driver for LBV Variability
• LBVs and Statistical Inference
• Pulsation-Initiated Mass Loss in Luminous Blue Variables: A Parameter Study