Related papers: The Ages, Masses, Evolution and Kinematics of Mira…
The majority of magnetic chemically peculiar (mCP) stars exhibit periodic light, magnetic, radio, and spectroscopic variations that can be adequately modelled as a rigidly-rotating main-sequence star with persistent surface structures.…
After a brief review of our current understanding of Miras and their evolutionary status, three aspects of ``real-time'' evolution in these and related stars are examined: # Chemical changes (O-rich to C-rich) due to third dredge-up #…
Stars are natural sources of feebly interacting particles, including putative particles with mass $m_\chi$ and electric charge $qe$. The emission of such millicharged particles (MCPs) causes an energy loss which can alter stellar evolution.…
The K2-33 planetary system hosts one transiting ~5 R_E planet orbiting the young M-type host star. The planet's mass is still unknown, with an estimated upper limit of 5.4 M_J. The extreme youth of the system (<20 Myr) gives the…
Pieces of empirical evidence suggest the existence of a period-age relation for long-period variables (LPVs). Yet, this property has hardly been studied on theoretical grounds thus far. We aim to examine the period-age relation using the…
The long secondary period (LSP) phenomenon, which is commonly observed in pulsating red giants, has not been detected in any Mira yet. The goal of this paper is to verify, if there is a physical reason for this or if it is simply an…
Eclipsing binary stars provide highly accurate measurements of the fundamental physical properties of stars. They therefore serve as stringent tests of the predictions of evolutionary models upon which most stellar age determinations are…
A key event in the history of the Milky Way is the formation of the bar. This event affects the subsequent structural and dynamical evolution of the entire Galaxy. When the bar formed, gas was likely rapidly funnelled to the centre of the…
The first stars are assumed to be predominantly massive. Although, due to the low initial abundances of heavy elements the line-driven stellar winds are supposed to be inefficient in the first stars, these stars may loose a significant…
Published data for large amplitude asymptotic giant branch variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud are re-analysed to establish the constants for an infrared (K) period-luminosity relation of the form: Mk=rho[log P-2.38] + delta. A slope of…
Measuring the evolution of X-ray emission from pre-main sequence (PMS) stars gives insight into two issues: the response of magnetic dynamo processes to changes in interior structure and the effects of high-energy radiation on…
(Abridged) We contribute to our understanding of the evolution of young intermediate-mass stars by providing a comprehensive analysis of their lithium (Li) content. A sample of 71 intermediate-mass T Tauri (IMTT) and Herbig stars within the…
Three component models of the IMF are made to consider possible origins for the observed relative variations in the numbers of brown dwarfs, solar-to-intermediate mass stars, and high mass stars. Three distinct physical processes are noted.…
We have undertaken a systematic study of pre-main sequence (PMS) stars spanning a wide range of masses (0.5 - 4 Msolar), metallicities (0.1 - 1 Zsolar) and ages (0.5 - 30 Myr). We have used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to identify and…
The surface rotation rates of young solar-type stars vary rapidly with age from the end of the pre-main sequence through the early main sequence. Important changes in the dynamos operating in these stars may result from this evolution,…
Early-type stars have convective cores due to a steep temperature gradient produced by the CNO cycle. These cores can host dynamos, and the generated magnetic fields can be relevant to explain the magnetism observed in Ap/Bp stars. Our main…
The study of young stellar populations has revealed that most stars are in binary or higher order multiple systems. In this study the influence on the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of large quantities of unresolved multiple massive…
This paper presents statistics of the line-doubling phenomenon in a sample of 81 long-period variable (LPV) stars of various periods, spectral types and brightness ranges. When correlated with a mask mimicking a K0III spectrum, 54% of the…
The lifetime of protoplanetary disks is a crucial parameter for planet formation research. Observations of disk fractions in star clusters imply median disk lifetimes of 1 -- 3 Myr. This very short disk lifetime calls for planet formation…
We present the discovery that Mira variables separate in two distinct sequences in a near- to mid-IR color versus pulsation period diagram, if a distinction is made with respect to the presence of technetium (Tc) in the stars. Tc is an…