RADIATIVE STEADY-STATE COLLIDING STELLAR WIND MODELS - ARE THEY CORRECT

The properties of radiative steady-state colliding stellar winds in bi nary systems are studied. It is shown that the presence of a singulari ty at the stagnation point has a major influence on the structure of t hese hows. This problem is of great importance if their stability prop erties are considered. None of the existing models treats this mathema tical problem properly, and special efforts must be undertaken in the future in order to come to a firm conclusion about the physical nature of possible instabilities. At the moment, neither numerical nor analy tical models can be considered to be of acceptable accuracy in the cas e of highly radiative steady-state colliding stellar winds.