Related papers: Can low metallicity binaries avoid merging?
Stellar rotation produces an internal mixing of the elements due to shear instability and meridional circulation. This leads to observable $N/C$ enhancements in massive stars above about 7--9 $M_{\odot}$. Rotation also favours mass loss by…
About half of the mass of all heavy elements with mass number A > 90 is formed through the slow neutron capture process (s-process), occurring in evolved asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with masses ~1-6 $\rm{M_{\odot}}$. The s-process…
The behavior of the relative magnesium abundances in the thin-disk stars versus their orbital radii suggests that the star formation rate in the thin disk decreases with increasing Galactocentric distance, and there was no star formation…
We review the present knowledge of disk accretion in young low mass stars, and in particular, the mass accretion rate and its evolution with time. The methods used to obtain mass accretion rates from ultraviolet excesses and emission lines…
In a relativistic model of a neutron star, the star's mass is less than the mass of the individual component baryons. This is due to the fact that the star's negative binding energy makes a contribution to the star's total energy and its…
We present new simulations investigating the impact of mass transfer on the asteroseismic signals of slowly pulsating B stars. We use MESA to simulate the evolution of a binary star system and GYRE to compute the asteroseismic properties of…
Compact binary mergers involving at least one neutron star are promising sites for the synthesis of $\textit{r}$-process elements found in stars and planets. However, mergers can take place at significant offsets from their host galaxies,…
Observations show that galaxies follow a mass-metallicity relation over a wide range of masses. One currently favoured explanation is that less massive galaxies are less able to retain the gas and stellar ejecta and thus may lose the…
We present initial results measuring the companion fraction of metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]$<-$2.0). We are employing the Lick Observatory planet-finding system to make high-precision Doppler observations of these objects. The binary fraction…
Some binary stars experience common envelope evolution, which is accompanied by drastic loss of angular momentum, mass, and orbital energy and which leaves behind close binaries often involving at least one white dwarf, neutron star, or…
(abridged) Search for planets around main-sequence (MS) stars more massive than the Sun is hindered by their hot and rapidly spinning atmospheres. This obstacle has been sidestepped by radial-velocity surveys of those stars on their post-MS…
Binary stars are responsible for many unusual astrophysical phenomena, including some important explosive cosmic events. The stability criteria for rapid mass transfer and common-envelope evolution are fundamental to binary star evolution.…
Binaries and higher order systems can experience mass transfer events between their components. The angular momentum carried by the gained mass can change the observable parameters of the accretor and spin it up to critical rotation. In…
The formation of supermassive stars (SMSs) via rapid mass accretion and their direct collapse into black holes (BHs) is a promising pathway for sowing seeds of supermassive BHs in the early universe. We calculate the evolution of rapidly…
A binary in which a slightly evolved star starts mass transfer to a neutron star can evolve towards ultra-short orbital periods under the influence of magnetic braking. This is called magnetic capture. We investigate in detail for which…
Accretion of planetary material onto host stars may occur throughout a star's life. Especially prone to accretion, extrasolar planets in short-period orbits, while relatively rare, constitute a significant fraction of the known population,…
The mass-luminosity relation for late-type stars has long been a critical tool for estimating stellar masses. However, there is growing need for both a higher-precision relation and a better understanding of systematic effects (e.g.,…
The mass ratio $q$ of a contact binary star evolves due to mass transfer, magnetic braking, and thermal relaxation oscillations to small values until it crosses a critical threshold $q_\text{min}$. When that happens, the binary undergoes…
We perform numerical simulations to investigate high-power wind accretion in massive binary systems undergoing enhanced mass-loss episodes. The primary star is taken in the mass range $M_{1} = 60$--$90\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$, while the…
About a quarter of massive binary stars undergo mass transfer while both stars burn hydrogen at their cores, first on the thermal and then on the nuclear timescale. The nuclear timescale mass transfer leads to observable counterparts: the…