Giant Outbursts of the Eta Carinae-P Cygni Type

Abstract

I discuss the role of short-duration eruptive mass loss in the evolution of very massive stars. Giant eruptions of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) like the 19th century event of $η$ Carinae can remove large quantities of mass almost instantaneously, making them significant in stellar evolution. They can potentially remove more mass from the star than line-driven winds, especially if winds are clumped such that O star mass-loss rates need to be revised downward. When seen in other galaxies as ``supernova impostors'', these eruptions typically last for less than a decade, and they can remove of order 10 M$_{\odot}$ as indicated by massive nebulae around LBVs. Such extreme mass-loss rates cannot be driven by radiation pressure on spectral lines. Instead, these outbursts must either be continuum-driven super-Eddington winds or outright hydrodynamic explosions, both of which are insensitive to metallicity. As such, this eruptive mode of mass loss could play a pivotal role for massive metal-poor stars in the early universe.