Use a geometrically thin spherical shell with constant mass and assume that its dust transfers momentum efficiently to its gas. Define the ultraviolet and infrared opacities per unit total shell mass by and . Its dust optical depths are
For a central ultraviolet luminosity , the usual dusty radiation-pressure-driven shell model absorbs a fraction of the incident momentum and adds an infrared trapping contribution . Neglecting swept-up mass, shell self-gravity, and other gravitating matter, its thin-shell momentum equation is
Balancing these terms gives the critical luminosity of a dusty shell:
This is a local force-balance luminosity, so it can depend on radius even when is constant.
The three useful limiting Eddington ratios are
The infrared limit assumes and ultraviolet absorption; the single-scattering limit assumes ; the ultraviolet-thin limit assumes with infrared opacity negligible compared with ultraviolet opacity. In the ultraviolet-opaque region the two radiative contributions add, and the effective ratio is .
The ultraviolet dust transparency radius for this constant-mass shell is
For the terminal speed of a constant-mass dusty shell, approximate the ultraviolet absorption factor by inside and by outside. The infrared contribution outside that radius is neglected; it is small there if . Define , so this otherwise radius-dependent ratio in the paper's final formula is an initial value.
Inside the acceleration is
Integrating from to gives
Outside , . Its integral to infinity supplies . Combining the two integrals yields
This assumes that the outward trajectory actually reaches the transparency radius; a positive formal endpoint energy alone does not rule out an intermediate turning point.
Put and . The ratios obey . The preceding expression becomes
If and infrared work is subdominant,
For a luminosity of order the initial single-scattering Eddington luminosity, , this implies . The shell continues intercepting approximately of momentum per unit time over a large distance while gravity weakens as . The resulting radiative work is not restricted to its initial gravitational binding energy: an Eddington luminosity is a local force threshold, not a universal cap on outflow speed.
If the unqualified instead means the electron-scattering value, the statement needs an additional condition. For , , and
Thus speeds greatly above escape velocity require , together with a viable launch. Large ultraviolet optical depth by itself does not prove the conclusion at fixed electron-scattering luminosity and opacity. The two interpretations must not be conflated.
The swept shell has , where . Its steady radial thin-shell momentum equation is
Let be the launch radius and impose .
In the single-scattering regime, define
The force difference is constant, and integration gives
The shell accelerates monotonically, but continuous sweeping of makes the speed approach the finite maximum
For the optically thin ultraviolet regime, define the launch Eddington factor
Since while the shell's gravitational force is constant, integration gives
It initially accelerates, reaches its maximum at
and then decelerates, formally stalling at . The contrast is physical: single-scattering transfers the same to the shell at every radius, whereas an ultraviolet-thin shell intercepts a fraction proportional to its declining optical depth, so the isothermal host's gravity eventually wins.