Related papers: Measuring the Upper End of the Initial Mass Functi…
Mass measurements and absorption line studies indicate that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is bottom-heavy in the central regions of many early-type galaxies, with an excess of low mass stars compared to the IMF of the Milky Way.…
Understanding the formation of the first stars is one of the frontier topics in modern astrophysics and cosmology. Their emergence signaled the end of the cosmic dark ages, a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, leading to a…
Banerji et al. (2009) suggested that top-heavy stellar Initial Mass Functions (IMFs) in galaxies may arise when the interstellar physical conditions inhibit low-mass star formation, and they determined the physical conditions under which…
There are various ways of measuring the slope of the upper end of the IMF. Arguably the most direct of these is to place stars on the H-R diagram and compare their positions with stellar evolutionary models. Even so, the masses one infers…
Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic) arise from the core-collapse of H (and He) poor stars, which could be either single WR stars or lower-mass stars stripped of their envelope by a companion. Their light curves are radioactively powered and usually…
Two main physical mechanisms are used to explain supernova explosions: thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf(Type Ia) and core collapse of a massive star (Type II and Type Ib/Ic). Type Ia supernovae serve as distance indicators that led…
The spectral absorption lines in early-type galaxies contain a wealth of information regarding the detailed abundance pattern, star formation history, and stellar initial mass function (IMF) of the underlying stellar population. Using our…
The study of core-collapse supernova remnants (SNRs) presents a fascinating puzzle, with intricate morphologies and a non-uniform distribution of stellar debris. Particularly, young remnants (aged less than 5000 years) hold immense value as…
We use the results of a supernova light-curve population synthesis to predict the range of possible supernova light curves arising from a population of single-star progenitors that lead to type IIP supernovae. We calculate multiple models…
Recent (sub)millimeter continuum surveys of nearby star-forming regions have revealed a wealth of new, cold cloud fragments. Those which are small-scale (diameter < 10000 AU), starless, and gravitationally bound are good candidates for…
Ultra compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) are dense stellar systems at the border between massive star-clusters and small galaxies. Their on average high optical mass-to-light (M/L) ratio cannot be explained by stellar populations with the…
We describe observations in the nearby universe (<100 Mpc) with a 10-m or larger space-based telescope having imaging and spectral capabilities in the range 912-9000 \AA that would enable advances in the fields of massive stars, young…
Population III supernovae have been of growing interest of late for their potential to directly probe the properties of the first stars, particularly the most energetic events that are visible near the edge of the observable universe. But…
We discuss the expected properties of the first stellar generations in the Universe. We find that it is possible to discern truly primordial populations from the next generation of stars by measuring the metallicity of high-z star forming…
Type Ia supernovae are understood to arise from the thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, yet the evolutionary mechanisms leading to such events remain unknown. Many proposed channels, including the classical…
The paper considers the evolution of the supernova envelopes produced by Population III stars with masses of $M_*\sim 25-200 M_\odot$ located in non-rotating protogalaxies with masses of $M\sim 10^7 M_\odot$ at redshifts $z=12$, with…
We revise the theoretical initial mass-final luminosity relation for progenitors of type IIP and IIL supernovae. The effects of the major uncertainties, as those due to the treatment of convection, semiconvection, rotation, mass loss,…
When calculating IMFs for young clusters, one has to take into account that (a) most massive stars are born in multiple systems (b) most IMFs are derived from data that cannot resolve such systems, and (c) multiple chance superpositions…
The birth of stars and the formation of galaxies are cornerstones of modern astrophysics. While much is known about how galaxies globally and their stars individually form and evolve, one fundamental property that affects both remains…
Type IIn supernovae occur when stellar explosions are surrounded by dense hydrogen-rich circumstellar matter. The dense circumstellar matter is likely formed by extreme mass loss from their progenitors shortly before they explode. The…