X-Shooting ULLYSES: massive stars at low metallicity: XII. The clumped winds of O-type (super)giants in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Abstract

Mass loss governs the evolution of massive stars and shapes the stellar surroundings. To quantify the impact of the stellar winds we need to know the exact mass-loss rates; however, empirical constraints on the rates are hampered by limited knowledge of their small-scale wind structure or 'wind clumping'. We aim to improve empirical constraints on the mass loss of massive stars by investigating the clumping properties of their winds, in particular the relation between stellar parameters and wind structure. We analyse the optical and ultraviolet spectra of 25 O-type (super)giants in the LMC, using the model atmosphere code Fastwind and a genetic algorithm. We derive stellar and wind parameters including detailed clumping properties, such as the amount of clumping, the density of the interclump medium, velocity-porosity of the medium, and wind turbulence. We obtain stellar and wind parameters for 24 of our sample stars and find that the winds are highly clumped, with an average clumping factor of $f_{\rm cl}=33\pm14$, an interclump density factor of $f_{\rm ic}=0.2\pm0.1$, and moderate to strong velocity-porosity effects. The scatter around the average values of the wind-structure parameters is large. With the exception of a significant, positive correlation between the interclump density factor and mass loss, we find no dependence of clumping parameters on either mass-loss rate or stellar properties. In the luminosity range that we investigate, the empirical and theoretical mass-loss rates both have a scatter of about 0.5~dex, or a factor 3. Within this uncertainty, the empirical rates and the theoretical predictions agree. The origin of the scatter of the empirical mass-loss rates requires further investigation. It is possible that our description of wind clumping is still not sufficient to capture effects of the structured wind; this could contribute to the scatter.