Related papers: Stars throw their weight in old galaxies
Ancient, long-lived stars remain present in all components of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Born a few hundred million after the Big Bang and during a time that marked the very beginning of the chemical evolution, these stars display very…
Early-type dwarfs are the most common galaxy in the local universe, yet their origin and evolution remain a mystery. Various cosmological scenarios predict that dwarf-like galaxies in dense areas are the first to form and hence should be…
The physical mechanism that allows massive stars to form is a major unsolved problem in astrophysics. Stars with masses $\gtsim 20$ $\msun$ reach the main sequence while still embedded in their natal clouds, and the immense radiation output…
Recent observations have revealed a population of $\alpha$-element abundances enhanced giant stars with unexpected high masses ($\gtrsim$1 $M_\odot$) from asteroseismic analysis and spectroscopy. Assuming single-star evolution, their masses…
For most galaxies, the shutdown of star formation was a slow process that took four billion years. An analysis of thousands of galaxies suggests that 'strangulation' by their environment was the most likely cause. See Letter on page 192 of…
Massive stars (with mass m_* > 8 solar masses) are fundamental to the evolution of galaxies, because they produce heavy elements, inject energy into the interstellar medium, and possibly regulate the star formation rate. The individual star…
At very low metallicity, the effects of differential rotation have a more important impact on the evolution of stars than at high metallicity. Rotational mixing leads to the production of great quantities of helium and of primary $^{14}$N…
The first star clusters and quasars resulted directly from the growth of linear density fluctuations in the early Universe. Since they emerged from a well-defined set of initial conditions, the interplay between observational data from the…
Low-mass stars exhibit, at all stages of their evolution, the signatures of complex physical processes that require challenging modeling beyond standard stellar theory. In this review, we recall the most striking observational evidences…
Starbursts are extreme concentrations of star-forming activity with mass conversion surface densities reaching over 1000 times higher than normal for disk galaxies. They are responsible for a large fraction of all cosmic star formation.…
To address the problem concerning the early formation of stars in massive galaxies, we present the results of a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation which includes a physical description of starbursts triggered by galaxy interactions.…
The observable characteristics and subsequent evolution of young stellar populations is dominated by their massive stars. As our understanding of those massive stars and the factors affecting their evolution improves, so our interpretation…
Mass loss and axial rotation are playing key roles in shaping the evolution of massive stars. They affect the tracks in the HR diagram, the lifetimes, the surface abundances, the hardness of the radiation field, the chemical yields, the…
We present an analysis of the positions and ages of young star clusters in eight local galaxies to investigate the connection between the age difference and separation of cluster pairs. We find that star clusters do not form uniformly but…
I briefly review the growing evidence that thick stellar disks surround most edge-on disk galaxies. Recent studies show that these extragalactic thick disks have old ages, low metallicities, long scale lengths, and moderately flattened…
The origin of the chemical anomalies in star clusters is still an open question, although much effort has been employed both from a theoretical and observational point of view. The exploration of whether such multiple stellar populations…
I discuss recent theoretical work on the formation and evolution of galaxies paying particular attention to the ability of current models to make detailed comparisons with observations of the galaxy population both nearby and at high…
Globular clusters are among the oldest structures in the Universe and they host today low-mass stars and no gas. However, there has been a time when they formed as gaseous objects hosting a large number of short-lived, massive stars. Many…
The first phase of stellar evolution in the history of the universe may be Dark Stars, powered by dark matter heating rather than by fusion. Weakly interacting massive particles, which are their own antiparticles, can annihilate and provide…
The globally-averaged star formation rate in the Universe has been steadily declining since at least z~1. This may be due either to very local processes operating within the average galaxy, or to external, environmental effects.…