A THEORY OF WINDS FROM WOLF-RAYET STARS

When the effective opacity exceeds a critical value, radiation-induced mass loss can undergo a sudden increase, relative to the lower opacit ies, even when the luminosity is formally sub-Eddington. It is suggest ed that this is the case for winds from Wolf-Rayet stars. It is furthe r argued that the wind will not be of a super-Eddington character, but rather that the opacity is adjusted via its interplay with the flow p arameters such that the new Eddington luminosity just nearly equals th e luminosity of the star itself.