Mass-loss rates in LMC and SMC O stars

This sample is ideal for determining IR excesses because the very small line-of-sight reddening minimizes uncertainties due to extinction corrections. We use the core-halo model developed by Lamers & Waters to translate the excesses into mass-loss rates and demonstrate that the results of this simple model agree with the more sophisticated CMFGEN models to within a factor of 2.

Taken at face value, the derived mass-loss rates are larger than those predicted by Vink et al. (2001A&A...369..574V), and the magnitude of the disagreement increases with decreasing luminosity. However, the IR excesses need not imply large mass-loss rates. Instead, we argue that they probably indicate that the outer atmospheres of O stars contain complex structures and that their winds are launched with much smaller velocity gradients than normally assumed.