2022MNRAS.514.3736S

Very massive stars (VMS) dominate the physics of young clusters due to their ionizing radiation and extreme stellar winds. It is these winds that determine their lifepaths until expiration. Observations in the Arches Cluster show that VMS all have similar temperatures. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey analysed VMS in the 30 Doradus (30 Dor) region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) also finding a narrow range of temperatures, albeit at higher values - likely a metallicity effect. Using MESA, we study the main-sequence evolution of VMS with a new mass-loss recipe that switches from optically thin O-star winds to optically thick Wolf-Rayet-type winds through the model-independent transition mass-loss rate of Vink & Grafener. We examine the temperature evolution of VMS with mass loss that scales with the luminosity-over-mass (L/M) ratio and the Eddington parameter (Γ_e), assessing the relevance of the surface hydrogen (H) abundance that sets the number of free electrons. We present grids of VMS models at Galactic and LMC metallicity and compare our temperature predictions with empirical results. Models with a steep Γ_e dependence evolve horizontally in the Hertzsprung-Russel (HR) diagram at nearly constant luminosities, requiring a delicate and unlikely balance between envelope inflation and enhanced mass loss over the entire VMS mass range. By contrast, models with a steep L/M-dependent mass loss are shown to evolve vertically in the HR diagram at nearly constant T_eff, naturally reproducing the narrow range of observed temperatures, as well as the correct trend with metallicity. This distinct behaviour of a steeply dropping luminosity is a self-regulatory mechanism that keeps temperatures constant during evolution in the HR diagram.