Evolutionary tracks of massive stars during formation

A model for massive stars is constructed by piecing together evolutionary algorithms for the protostellar structure, the environment, the inflow and the radiation feedback. We investigate specified accretion histories of constant, decelerating and accelerating forms and consider both hot and cold accretion, identified with spherical free-fall and disc accretion, respectively. Diagnostic tools for the interpretation of the phases of massive star formation and testing the evolutionary models are then developed. Evolutionary tracks able to fit Herschel Space Telescope data require the generated stars to be three to four times less massive than in previous interpretations, thus being consistent with clump star formation efficiencies of 10–15 per?cent. However, for these cold Herschel clumps, the bolometric temperature is not a good diagnostic to differentiate between accretion models. We also find that neither spherical nor disc accretion can explain the high radio luminosities of many protostars. Nevertheless, we discover a solution in which the extreme ultraviolet flux needed to explain the radio emission is produced if the accretion flow is via free-fall on to hotspots covering less than 10 per?cent of the surface area. Moreover, the protostar must be compact, and so has formed through cold accretion. We show that these conclusions are independent of the imposed accretion history. This suggests that massive stars form via gas accretion through discs which, in the phase before the star bloats, download their mass via magnetic flux tubes on to the protostar.