Related papers: Fundamental Stellar Properties from Optical Interf…
How important is an independent diameter measurement for the determination of stellar parameters of solar-type stars? When coupled with seismic observables, how well can we determine the stellar mass? If we can determine the radius of the…
Oscillations detected on the solar surface provide a unique possibility for investigations of the interior properties of a star. Through major observational efforts, including extensive observations from space, as well as development of…
Latest-generation spectro-interferometric instruments combine a milliarcsecond angular resolution with spectral capabilities, resulting in an immensely increased information content. Here, I present methodological work and results that…
I review determinations of star formation rates (SFR) from the ultraviolet to the infrared, in the context of their use for galaxies and galaxy surveys. The mid-infrared SFR indicators have garnered interest in recent years thanks to the…
The development of infrared observational facilities has revealed a number of massive stars in obscured environments throughout the Milky Way and beyond. The determination of their stellar and wind properties from infrared diagnostics is…
Stars are usually faint point sources and investigating their surfaces and interiors observationally is very demanding. Here I give a review on the state-of-the-art observing techniques and recent results on studying interiors and surface…
Opacity is a key ingredient of stellar structure and evolution. In the present work, we recall the role of opacity in asteroseismology, focusing mainly on two kinds of astrophysical objects: $\beta$ Cephei-type stars, and the Sun. The…
After decades of experimental projects and fast-paced technical advances, optical / infrared (O/IR) interferometry has seen a revolution in the last years. The GRAVITY instrument at the VLTI with four 8 meter telescopes reaches thousand…
HST observations have contributed significantly to our knowledge on the behaviour of Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) as optical emitters. First, HST has been instrumental both to discover new optical counterparts (PSR B1055-52, PSR B1929+10,…
We introduce an observational tool based on visibility nulls in optical spectro-interferometry fringe data to probe the structure of stellar atmospheres. In a preliminary demonstration, we use both Navy Precision Optical Interferometer…
Model-predicted and observed properties of the brightness distribution on M-type Mira disks are discussed. Fundamental issues of limb-darkening and diameter definition, of assigning observational data to diameter-type quantities and of…
Motivated by the possible existence of other universes, with possible variations in the laws of physics, this paper explores the parameter space of fundamental constants that allows for the existence of stars. To make this problem…
During these last decades, our knowledge of evolutionary and structural properties of stars of different mass and chemical composition is significantly improved. This result has been achieved as a consequence of our improved capability in…
We combine results from interferometry, asteroseismology and spectroscopic analyses to determine accurate fundamental parameters (mass, radius and effective temperature) of 10 bright solar-type stars covering the H-R diagram from spectral…
The past century of interstellar dust has brought us from first ignoring it to finding that it is an important component of the interstellar medium and plays an important role in the evolution of galaxies, the formation of stars and…
Over the past two decades, photonics have been developed as technological solutions for astronomical instrumentation for, e.g., near-infrared spectroscopy and long baseline interferometry. With increasing instrument capabilities, large…
We present a brief review of Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of neutron stars. The outstanding spatial and spectral resolution of this great observatory have allowed for observations of unprecedented clarity and accuracy. Many of…
Optical interferometry is the only technique giving access to milli-arcsecond (mas) resolution at infrared wavelengths. For Cepheids, this is a powerful and unique tool to detect the orbiting companions and the circumstellar envelopes…
The simple physics of microlensing provides a well-understood tool with which to probe the atmospheres of distant stars in the Galaxy and Local Group with high magnification and resolution. Recent results in measuring stellar surface…
We briefly review some constraints (Owing to the limited number of pages of present review, only a sub-sample of the topics discussed during the talk are briefly summarized. For the interested readers we are pleased to send them upon…