Even in these instability shock models, most of the
wind is cold and is a source of X-ray continuum opacity
The massive winds of O stars are
expected to be optically thick to
soft X-raysÉthe inner tens of R*
may be heavily absorbed: or so it
is thought.
The wavelength dependence of
individual lines leads to the
expectation that different
absorption characteristics will be
seen in different lines from a given
star.
24
12
Neutral
(ISM) cross
section
Wind cross
section
models