Formation and shaping mechanisms of massive-star disks and asymmetric outflows

Determine the formation and shaping mechanisms of dense, molecule-rich disks and asymmetric outflows around evolved massive stars, including the roles of rotationally enhanced mass loss, non-radial pulsations, and binary interactions.

Background

The paper explains that evolved massive stars are poorly characterized because only a few nearby objects have been studied in molecular emission. Observations of yellow hypergiants, B[e] supergiants, and luminous blue variables reveal dense disks and asymmetric outflows, but these structures are generally unresolved. The paper identifies the physical mechanisms responsible for their formation and shaping as an unresolved issue relevant to understanding mass ejection in massive evolved stars.

References

Promising detections in yellow hypergiants, B[e] supergiants and luminous blue variables reveal dense, molecule-rich disks and asymmetric outflows that remain barely resolved in most cases, leaving their formation and shaping mechanisms (rotationally enhanced mass-loss, non-radial pulsations, binary interactions) an open question.

— Evolved stars: dust formation and mass loss  (2610.21851 - Velilla-Prieto et al., 15 Oct 2026) in Section 1, subsection “Mass loss”