The Evolution of Very Massive Stars

Abstract

Core collapse of dense massive star clusters is unavoidable, and this leads to the formation of massive objects, with masses of up to 1000 M ⊙ and even larger. When these objects become stars, stellar wind mass loss determines their evolution and final fate, and decides on whether they form black holes (with normal mass or with intermediate mass) or explode as a pair-instability supernova. In this paper we discuss the evolution of very massive stars and present a convenient evolution recipe that can be implemented in a gravitational N-body code to study the dynamics of dense massive clusters. © 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.