Related papers: The evolution of massive and very massive stars in…
Stars with masses in excess of 100 Msun are observed in the Local Universe, but they remain rare objects. Because of the shape of the mass function, they are expected to be present only in the most massive and youngest clusters. They may…
Very massive stars (VMS) play a fundamental role in astrophysics due to their winds and supernovae (SN), and their role as massive black hole (BH) progenitors. However, their origin and evolution remain a significant challenge. Recent…
Binary stars are pairs of stars that are gravitationally bound, providing in some cases accurate measurements of their masses and radii. As such, they serve as excellent testbeds for the theory of stellar structure and evolution. Moreover,…
Massive stars played a key role in the early evolution of the Universe. They formed with the first halos and started the re-ionisation. It is therefore very important to understand their evolution. In this review, we first recall the effect…
Mass loss governs the evolution of massive stars and shapes the stellar surroundings. To quantify the impact of the stellar winds we need to know the exact mass-loss rates; however, empirical constraints on the rates are hampered by limited…
Some studies have claimed the existence of a stellar upper-mass limit of 150 Msun. A factor that is often overlooked concerns the issue that there might be a significant difference between the present-day and the initial mass of the most…
Although fundamental for astrophysics, the processes that produce massive stars are not well understood. Large distances, high extinction, and short timescales of critical evolutionary phases make observations of these processes…
Massive stars are crucial building blocks of galaxies and the universe, as production sites of heavy elements and as stirring agents and energy providers through stellar winds and supernovae. The field of magnetic massive stars has seen…
Aims: We study the evolution of stellar rotation and wind properties for low-mass main-sequence stars. Our aim is to use rotational evolution models to constrain the mass loss rates in stellar winds and to predict how their properties…
Stellar evolution theory is most uncertain for massive stars. For reliable predictions of the evolution of massive stars and their final fate, solid constraints on the physical parameters, and their changes along the evolution and in…
At very low metallicity, the effects of differential rotation have a more important impact on the evolution of stars than at high metallicity. Rotational mixing leads to the production of great quantities of helium and of primary $^{14}$N…
The stellar-dynamical evolution of bound star clusters during the first few Myr is dominated by binary-binary and binary-star interactions, the rapid sinking of the most massive stars to the centre of the clusters and mass loss from…
We study the orbital evolution of wide binary stars in the solar neighborhood due to gravitational perturbations from passing stars. We include the effects of the Galactic tidal field and continue to follow the stars after they become…
Their ubiquity and extreme densities make star clusters probes of prime importance of galaxy evolution. Old globular clusters keep imprints of the physical conditions of their assembly in the early Universe, and younger stellar objects,…
We review some important observed properties of massive stars. Then we discuss how mass loss and rotation affect their evolution and help in giving better fits to observational constraints. Consequences for nucleosynthesis at different…
Massive stars are "cosmic engines" (cf the title of the IAU Symposium 250). They drive the photometric and chemical evolution of galaxies, inject energy and momentum through stellar winds and supernova explosions, they modify in this way…
Massive stars have strong stellar winds that direct their evolution through the upper Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and determine the black hole mass function. Secondly, wind strength dictates the atmospheric structure that sets the ionising…
High precision photometry and spectroscopy of low-mass stars reveal a variety of properties standard stellar evolution cannot predict. Rotation, an essential ingredient of stellar evolution, is a step towards resolving the discrepancy…
Open and globular star clusters have served as benchmarks for the study of stellar evolution due to their supposed nature as simple stellar populations of the same age and metallicity. After a brief review of some of the pioneering work…
We will discuss the evolution of star clusters with an large initial binary fraction, up to 95%. The initial binary population is chosen to follow the invariant orbital-parameter distributions suggested by Kroupa (1995). The Monte Carlo…