ITAL]Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer[/ITAL] Observations of the Stellar Winds of Two O7 Supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds

Abstract

We compare the stellar wind features in far-UV spectra of Sk -67°111, an O7 Ib(f) star in the LMC, with Sk 80, an O7 Iaf+ star in the SMC. The most striking differences are that Sk 80 has a substantially lower terminal velocity, much weaker O VI absorption, and stronger S IV emission. We have used line-blanketed, hydrodynamic, non-LTE atmospheric models to explore the origin of these differences. The far-UV spectra require systematically lower stellar temperatures than previous determinations for O7 supergiants derived from plane-parallel, hydrostatic models of photospheric line profiles. At these temperatures, the O VI in Sk -67°111 must be due primarily to shocks in the wind.