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Asteroseismology of massive stars has recently begun a revolution thanks to high-precision time series photometry from space telescopes. This has allowed accurate and robust constraints on interior physical processes, such as mixing and…
The modelling of massive star evolution is a complex task, and is very sensitive to the way physical processes (such as convection, rotation, mass loss, etc.) are included in stellar evolution code. Moreover, the very high observed fraction…
Eclipsing binary stars have long served as benchmark systems to measure fundamental stellar properties. In the past few decades, asteroseismology - the study of stellar pulsations - has emerged as a new powerful tool to study the structure…
In this lecture the basic theory of accretion disks is reviewed, with emphasis on aspects relevant for X-ray binaries and Cataclysmic Variables. The text gives a general introduction as well as a selective discussion of a number of more…
The past few years have seen several breakthroughs in particle astrophysics and cosmology. In several cases, new observations can only be explained with the introduction of new fundamental physics. In this talk I summarize some of these…
We report on the discovery of two new faint cataclysmic variables. The objects were selected as candidates from two different imaging surveys aimed at the discovery of such faint systems. One survey used color and variability while the…
The evolution of irregular galaxies is examined from two points of view: on the one hand, models of galactic chemical evolution have been computed and their predictions compared with the corresponding observational data on the element…
Because accretion-generated luminosity dominates the radiated energy of most cataclysmic variables, they have been ``traditionally'' observed primarily at short wavelengths. Infrared observations of cataclysmic variables contribute to the…
A detailed understanding of the physics of star and planet formation requires study of individual objects as well as statistical assessment of global properties and evolutionary trends. Observational investigations of circumstellar material…
Galactic bulges are complex systems. Once thought to be small-scale versions of elliptical galaxies, advances in astronomical instrumentation (spectroscopy in particular) has revealed a wealth of photometric and kinematic substructure in…
Accretion disc outbursts are re-occurring events observed in various astrophysical systems, including X-ray binaries and cataclysmic variables. These outbursts are characterized by a sudden increase in luminosity due to various…
Recent observational and theoretical results on blazars are presented and discussed. We are beginning to understand the rich phenomenology of blazars, and we are finding trends which will hopefully lead us to unveil the physics of these…
New facilities and technologies have advanced our understanding of massive stars significantly over the past 30 years. Here I introduce a new large survey of massive stars using VLT-FLAMES, noting the target fields and observed binary…
Current observations of double neutron stars provide us with a wealth of information that we can use to investigate their evolutionary history and the physical conditions of neutron star formation. Understanding this history and formation…
The fundamental properties of detached eclipsing binary stars can be measured very accurately, which could make them important objects for constraining the treatment of convection in theoretical stellar models. However, only four or five…
New constraints on stellar models are provided by large surveys of massive stars, interferometric observations and asteroseismology. After a review of the main results so far obtained, we present new results from rotating models and discuss…
Binary systems of rapidly spinning compact objects, such as black holes or neutron stars, are prime targets for gravitational wave astronomers. The dynamics of these systems can be very complicated due to spin-orbit and spin-spin couplings.…
We present some results of long term studies of pulsating stars conducted in the course of the OGLE and Araucaria projects. In particular very scarce eclipsing binaries containing pulsating stars are discussed. Such systems provide a unique…
A few percent of all stars are variable, yet over 90% of variables brighter than 12 magnitude have not been discovered yet. There is a need for an all sky search and for the early detection of any unexpected events: optical flashes from…
Recent discoveries have confirmed the existence of a large population of X-ray sources fuelled by accretion from the stellar wind of an OB supergiant. Such systems are powerful laboratories to study many aspects of astrophysics. Over the…