The influence of interstellar medium on subsonic stellar motions

It is not a trivial problem to imagine how a spherical high-pressure balloon with supersonic gas jets leaving from pores densely distributed on its surface can be influenced by an ambient gas flow. The relative motion of such a balloon can be controlled by a corresponding rearrangement of the gas outflow into an aspherical configuration. A similar problem is connected with stars driving a supersonic stellar wind and moving relative to the interstellar medium. As we shall show, the adapted circumstellar flow leads to an upwind-downwind pressure asymmetry balancing the momentum loss that is braking such stars. The opposite process — i.e., acceleration — may occur if luminous stars are closely associated and their wind systems interfere with each other. This should lead to a mutual repulsion.