Super Eddington Atmospheres and their Winds

Abstract

We present a model for the steady state winds of super-Eddington systems. These radiatively driven winds are expected to be optically thick and clumpy as they arise from a porous atmosphere. The model is then used to derive the mass loss of bright classical novae. The long duration super-Eddington outflows that are clearly observed in at least two cases (Nova LMC 1988 #1 & Nova FH Ser) are naturally explained. Moreover, the predicted mass loss and temperature evolution agree nicely with the observations, as do additional features. eta-Car is then used to double check the theory which predicts the observed mass shed in the great eruption.