Deposition of mass, momentum, and energy by massive stars into the interstellar medium

Abstract

The study presents models for the integrated output of mass, momentum, and energy from a population of massive stars. An extensive grid of radiative wind models is computed for hot stars, and scaling parameters are derived for the mass-loss rates and wind velocities as a function of stellar parameters, including the metal abundance. The mass-loss rate is found to scale with metal abundance like M-dot varies as Z exp 0.8. These wind models are combined with empirical stellar-wind data of other stellar types to obtain predictions for mass-loss rates and wind velocities in the entire upper Hertzprung-Russel diagram. Theoretical and observational uncertainties are discussed. The output of mass, momentum, and energy from stellar winds is computed for typical starburst parameters. It is confirmed that stellar winds and SN explosions can energize superwinds if the kinetic energy of the stellar winds and the SN explosions is efficiently thermalized in the galactic interstellar medium.