Related papers: Semi-empirical white dwarf initial-final mass rela…
The vast majority of stars that populate the Universe will end their evolution as white-dwarf stars. Applications of white dwarfs include cosmochronology, evolution of planetary systems, and also as laboratories to study non-standard…
Massive star clusters are often used as tracers of galaxy formation and assembly. In order to do so, we must understand their properties at formation, and how those properties change with time, galactic environment, and galaxy assembly…
We present a new set of cooling models and isochrones for both H- and He-atmosphere white dwarfs, incorporating accurate boundary conditions from detailed model atmosphere calculations, and carbon-oxygen chemical abundance profiles based on…
One of the most reliable means of studying the stellar interior is through the apsidal motion in double line eclipsing binary systems since these systems present errors in masses, radii, and effective temperatures of only a few per cent. On…
The initial mass function (IMF) succinctly characterizes a stellar population, provides a statistical measure of the end result of the star-formation process, and informs our under- standing of the structure and dynamical evolution of…
It takes years of effort employing the best telescopes and instruments to obtain high-quality stellar photometry, astrometry, and spectroscopy. Stellar evolution models contain the experience of lifetimes of theoretical calculations and…
Many white dwarfs have accreted material from their own planetary systems. These objects can be used to infer the composition of exoplanetary material and identify evidence for key geological processes. However, the white dwarf atmospheric…
White dwarfs, the final evolutionary stage of the vast majority of stars, serve as critical tools for cosmochronology, studies of planetary system evolution, and laboratories for non-standard physics, including exotic cooling channels and…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a key property of stellar populations. There is growing evidence that the classical star-formation mechanism by the direct cloud fragmentation process has difficulties reproducing the observed…
We present robust statistical estimates of the accuracy of early-type galaxy stellar masses derived from spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting as functions of various empirical and theoretical assumptions. Using large samples…
We make use of a previous well tested Galactic model, but describing the observational behavior of the various stellar components in terms of suitable assumptions on their evolutionary status. In this way we are able to predict the expected…
Precise measurements of the fundamental properties of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs are key to understanding the physics underlying their formation and evolution. While there has been great progress over the last decade in studying the…
We analyse pre-Main Sequence evolutionary tracks for low mass stars with masses $m \le 1.4 \msol$ based on the Baraffe et al. (1998) input physics. We also extend the recent Chabrier et al. (2000) evolutionary models based on dusty…
We demonstrate a new Bayesian technique to invert color-magnitude diagrams of main sequence and white dwarf stars to reveal the underlying cluster properties of age, distance, metallicity, and line-of-sight absorption, as well as individual…
In spite of significant recent and ongoing research efforts, most of the early evolution and long-term fate of young massive star clusters remain clouded in uncertainties. Here, I discuss our understanding of the initial conditions of star…
We present observational constraints for the initial-to-final mass relation (IFMR) derived from 11 white dwarfs (WDs) in wide binaries (WBs) that contain a turnoff/subgiant primary. Because the components of WBs are coeval to a good…
We supplement recent evolutionary computations of canonical stellar models (i.e. with inefficient core overshooting) with Z=0.0002, 0.0004, 0.0006, 0.001, 0.004, 0.008 and suitable assumptions about the original He content. Evolutionary…
White dwarfs are the most common endpoints of stellar evolution. They are often found in close binary systems in which the white dwarf is accreting matter from a companion star, either via an accretion disc or channelled along the white…
The limiting mass of cold white dwarfs was first calculated by E. Stoner in an approximate model of a uniform star and was soon reduced by ~20% in papers by S. Chandrasekhar and L. D. Landau based on an exact solution of the equations for…
The distribution of stars and stellar remnants (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes) within globular clusters holds clues about their formation and long-term evolution, with important implications for their initial mass function (IMF)…