Momentum deposition on Wolf-Rayet winds: Nonisotropic diffusion with effective gray opacity
We derive the velocity and mass-loss rate of a steady state Wolf-Rayet (WR) wind, using a nonisotropic diffusion approximation applied to the transfer between strongly overlapping spectral lines. Following the approach of Friend & Castor (1983), the line list is assumed to approximate a statistically parameterized Poisson distribution in frequency, so that photon transport is controlled by an angle-dependent, effectively gray opacity. We show the nonisotropic diffusion approximation yields good agreement with more accurate numerical treatments of the radiative transfer, while providing analytic insight into wind driving by multiple scattering. We illustrate, in particular, that multiple radiative momentum deposition does not require that potons be repeatedly reflected across substantial distances within the spherical envelope, but indeed is greatest when photons undergo a nearly local diffusion, e.g., through scattering by many lines closely spaced in frequency. Our results reiterate the view that the so-called 'momentum problem' of Wolf-Rayet winds is better characterized as an 'opacity problem' of simply identfying enough lines. One way of increasing the number of thick lines in Wolf-Rayet winds is to transfer opacity from saturated to unsaturated lines, yielding a steeper opacity distribution than that found in OB winds. We discuss the implications of this perspective for extending our approach to W-R wind models that incorporate a more fundamental treatment of the ionization and excitation processes that determine the line opacity. In particular, we argue that developing statistical descriptions of the lines to allow an improved effective opacity for the line ensemble would offer several advantages for deriving such more fundamental W-R wind models.