Observed Epochal Variations in X-ray Lines from the O Supergiant Ζ Puppis Do Not Require Substantial Changes in the Wind Mass Flux

We fit the high-resolution Chandra X-ray spectra of the O supergiant zeta Puppis using the variable boundary condition (VBC) line model to test the stability of its mass-loss rate between two epochs of observation: 2000 March and 2018 July - 2019 August. At issue is whether the observed variations are induced by global changes in the cool (unshocked) wind itself or are isolated to the local pockets of hot gas (i.e. changes in the frequency and location of the shocks). Evidence in the literature favoured the possibility of a 40 per cent increase in the mass flux of the entire stellar wind, based on X-ray reabsorption from a line-deshadowing-instability-inspired parametrization, whereas our fit parameters are consistent with a constant mass flux with a change in the velocity variations that determine the locations where shocks form. Our results suggest the shocks in the more recent data are formed at somewhat larger radii, mimicking the enhanced blueshifts and increased line fluxes interpreted in the previous analysis as being due to increases in both the X-ray generation and reabsorption from an overall stronger wind.