Related papers: A new age determination Gamma^2 Velorum from binar…
We introduce a set of stellar models for massive stars whose evolution has been affected by mass transfer in a binary system, at a range of metallicities. As noted by other authors, the effect of such mass transfer is frequently more than…
A new scenario for evolution of contact binaries is presented and discussed. Arguments are given that W UMa-type systems are formed from detached binaries which lose angular momentum via magnetized wind. This takes typically several Gyr.…
The first Gaia Data Release presents an opportunity to characterise the low-mass population of OB associations, providing larger statistical samples and better constraints on the formation and evolution of clusters and associations. Using…
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…
Stellar binaries in galactic centers are relevant to several observable phenomena, including hypervelocity stars, X-ray binaries, and mergers of stars and compact objects; however, we know little about the properties of these binaries. Past…
This paper describes our study of the astrophysics of individual components in close pre-main-sequence binaries. We observed both stars in 17 systems, located in 4 nearby star forming regions, using low-resolution (R=760), infrared…
The ages of stars have historically relied on isochrone fitting of standardised grids of models. While these stellar models have provided key constraints on observational samples of massive stars, they inherit many systematic uncertainties,…
Recycled pulsars are mainly characterized by their spin periods, B-fields and masses. All these quantities are affected by previous interactions with a companion star in a binary system. Therefore, we can use these quantities as fossil…
We provide a status report on the determination of stellar ages from asteroseismology for stars of various masses and evolutionary stages. The ability to deduce the ages of stars with a relative precision of typically 10 to 20% is a unique…
Be stars are rapidly rotating B type stars. The origin of their rapid rotation is not certain, but binary interaction remains to be a possibility. In this work we investigate the formation of Be stars resulting from mass transfer in…
White dwarf (WD) stars evolve simply and predictably, making them reliable age indicators. However, self-consistent validation of the methods for determining WD total ages has yet to be widely performed. This work uses 1565 wide ( > 100 au)…
We use N-body integration to follow the evolution of clusters of 200 binary systems with different initial half mass radii $R_{0.5}$. We also simulate single-star clusters. All clusters evolve according to the same $n(t)$ curve, where…
Stellar evolution theory has been extraordinarily successful at explaining the different phases under which stars form, evolve and die. While the strongest constraints have traditionally come from binary stars, the advent of…
We present follow-up spectroscopy and a detailed model atmosphere analysis of 29 wide double white dwarfs, including eight systems with a crystallized C/O core member. We use state-of-the-art evolutionary models to constrain the physical…
Barium (Ba) stars form via mass-transfer in binary systems, and can subsequently interact with their white dwarf companion in a second stage of binary interaction. We used observations of main-sequence Ba systems as input for our…
We present preliminary though statistically significant evidence that shows that multiplanetary systems that exhibit a 2/1 period commensurability are in general younger than multiplanetary systems without commensurabilities, or even…
The stellar encounter rate Gamma has been shown to be strongly correlated with the number of X-ray binaries in clusters and also to the number of radio pulsars. However, the pulsar populations in different clusters show remarkably different…
Scaling relations are very useful tools for estimating unknown stellar quantities. Within this framework, eclipsing binaries are ideal for this goal because their mass and radius are known with a very good level of accuracy, leading to…
The ages of the components in very short period pre-main sequence (PMS) binaries are essential to an understanding of their formation. We considered a sample of 7 PMS eclipsing binaries (EBs) with ages 1 to 6.3 MY and component masses 0.2…
We present multi-epoch spectroscopic observations of the massive binary system WR21a, which include the January 2011 periastron passage. Our spectra reveal multiple SB2 lines and facilitate an accurate determination of the orbit and the…