Related papers: Massive stars as thermonuclear reactors and their …
Core-collapse supernovae are among the most fascinating phenomena in astrophysics and provide a formidable challenge for theoretical investigation. They mark the spectacular end of the lives of massive stars and, in an explosive eruption,…
Massive stars live fast and die young. They shine furiously for a few million years, during which time they synthesize most of the heavy elements in the universe in their cores. They end by blowing themselves up in a powerful explosion…
The observation of neutrinos from Supernova~1987A has confirmed the theoretical conjecture that these particles play a crucial role during the collapse of the core of a massive star. Only one per cent of the energy they carry away from the…
Massive stars evolve toward the catastrophic collapse of their innermost core, producing core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions as the end products. White dwarfs, formed through evolution of the less massive stars, also explode as…
The force that governs the evolution of stars is gravity. Indeed this force drives star formation, imposes thermal and density gradients into stars at hydrostatic equilibrium and finally plays the key role in the last phases of their…
The core of a massive star (M > 8 Msun) eventually collapses. This implosion usually triggers a supernova (SN) explosion that ejects most of the stellar envelope and leaves behind a neutron star (NS) with a mass of up to about 2 Msun.…
Multidimensional simulations show that non-radial, turbulent, fluid motion is a fundamental component of the core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosion mechanism. Neutrino-driven convection, the standing accretion shock instability, and…
Type Ia supernovae are associated with thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars. Combustion processes convert material in nuclear reactions and release the energy required to explode the stars. At the same time, they produce the…
Supernovae explosions of massive stars are nowadays believed to result from a two-step process, with an initial gravitational core collapse followed by an expansion of matter after a bouncing on the core. This scenario meets several…
The synthesis of nuclei in diverse cosmic scenarios is reviewed, with a summary of the basic concepts involved before a discussion of the current status in each case is made. We review the physics of the early universe, the proton to…
We formulate a statistical model for description of nuclear composition and equation of state of stellar matter at subnuclear densities and temperature up to 20 MeV, which are expected during the collapse and explosion of massive stars. The…
We present a detailed study of the evolution of massive stars of masses 15, 20, 25 and 30 $\msun$ assuming solar-like initial chemical composition. The stellar sequences were evolved through the advanced burning phases up to the end of core…
The main stages in the evolution of a neutron star, from its birth as a proto-neutron star, to its old age as a cold, catalyzed configuration, are described. A proto-neutron star is formed in the aftermath of a successful supernova…
Fusion reactions with light nuclei play an essential role in understanding the energy production, the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements and the evolution of massive stars. The measurement of key fusion reactions at stellar energies is…
All recent numerical simulations agree that stars in the main sequence mass range of 9-40 solar masses do not produce a prompt hydrodynamic ejection of the outer layers after core collapse and bounce. Rather they suggest that stellar core…
The determination of astrophysical reaction rates requires different approaches depending on the conditions in hydrostatic and explosive burning. The focus here is on astrophysical reaction rates for radiative neutron capture reactions.…
The rapidly growing base of observational data for supernova explosions of massive stars demands theoretical explanations. Central of these is a self-consistent model for the physical mechanism that provides the energy to start and drive…
Nuclear reaction rates determine the abundances of isotopes in stellar burning processes. A multitude of reactions determine the reaction flow pattern which is described in terms of reaction network simulations. The reaction rates are…
Massive stars are able to pursue their evolution through the whole sequence of burning phases. They are born hot and luminous, and live a short life before exploding as a supernova or collapsing directly into a black hole. They have a…
Rotation in massive stars has been studied on the main sequence and during helium burning for decades, but only recently have realistic numerical simulations followed the transport of angular momentum that occurs during more advanced stages…