Related papers: LBV Eruptions Triggered and Powered by Binary Inte…
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are evolved massive stars close to the Eddington limit, with a distinct spectroscopic and photometric variability having unsteady mass-loss rates. These stars show a considerable change in their surface…
I discuss the role of short-duration eruptive mass loss in the evolution of very massive stars. Giant eruptions of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) like the 19th century event of $\eta$ Carinae can remove large quantities of mass almost…
The observed giant outbursts of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) may occur when these massive stars approach their Eddington limits. When this happens, they must reach a point where the centrifugal force and the radiative acceleration cancel…
Among the most spectacular variable stars are the Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), which can show three types of variability. The LBV phase of evolution is poorly understood, and the driving mechanisms for the variability are not known. The…
Cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) are close binary systems consisting of a white dwarf (primary) that is accreting matter from a low-mass companion star (secondary). From time to time such systems undergo large-amplitude brightenings. The…
Using hydrodynamical numerical simulations we show that high-velocity ejecta with 10,000 km/s in the outbursts of the supernova impostor SN 2009ip and similar luminous blue variable (LBV) stars can be explained by the interaction of fast…
The Luminous Blue Variable stars exhibit behavior ranging from light curve `microvariations' on timescales of tens of days, to `outbursts' accompanied by mass loss of up to 10e-03 solar masses per year, occurring decades apart, to `giant…
Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are believed to be evolved, extremely massive stars close to the Eddington Limit and hence prone to bouts of large-scale, unstable mass loss. I discuss current understanding of the evolutionary state of these…
Some reports of supernova (SN) discoveries turn out not to be true core-collapse explosions. One such case was SN 2009ip, which was recognized to be a luminous blue variable (LBV) eruption. This source had a massive hot progenitor star…
First results of near-IR adaptive optics (AO)-assisted imaging, interferometry, and spectroscopy of this Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) are presented. They suggest that the Pistol Star is at least double. If the association is physical, it…
Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are enigmatic, evolved, massive stars. Their variability has been observed to be episodic with large eruptions, along with variations on time-scales of days to decades. We have extracted light curves of 37…
Context. Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are thought to be in a transitory phase between O stars on the main-sequence and the Wolf-Rayet stage. Recent studies suggest that they might be formed through binary interaction. Only a few are known…
We use observations of the Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) P Cygni spanning seven decades, along with signal processing methods, to identify a periodicity in the stellar luminosity. We find a distinct period of $4.7 \pm 0.3$ years together…
We suggest that the mass lost during the evolution of very massive stars may be dominated by optically thick, continuum-driven outbursts or explosions, instead of by steady line-driven winds. In order for a massive star to become a WR star,…
Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are massive stars caught in a post-main sequence phase, during which they are losing a significant amount of mass. As, on one hand, it is thought that the majority of massive stars are close binaries that will…
We use the analysis of the heavy element abundances (C, N, O, S) in circumstellar nebulae around Luminous Blue Variables to infer the evolutionary phase in which the material has been ejected. (1) We discuss the different effects that may…
Observations show that luminous blue variables (LBVs) are far more dispersed than massive O-type stars, and Smith & Tombleson suggested that these large separations are inconsistent with a single-star evolution model of LBVs. Instead, they…
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are rare objects of very high luminosity and mass loss rates, low wind velocities, exhibiting strong irregular photometric and spectral variability. They are generally believed to be a relatively short…
Long secondary periods (LSPs), observed in a third of pulsating red giant stars, are the only unexplained type of large-amplitude stellar variability known at this time. Here we show that this phenomenon is a manifestation of a substellar…
The interaction between supernova ejecta and circumstellar matter, arising from previous episodes of mass loss, provides us with a means with which to constrain the progenitors of supernovae. Radio observations of a number of supernovae…