Related papers: The Great Escape III: Placing post-main-sequence e…
The presence of planets around solar-type stars suggests that many white dwarfs should have relic planetary systems. While planets closer than $\sim$ 5~AU will most likely not survive the post-main sequence lifetime of its parent star, any…
If supermassive black holes (BHs) are generically present in galaxy centers, and if galaxies are built up through hierarchical merging, BH binaries are at least temporary features of most galactic bulges. Observations suggest, however, that…
Post-RGB and post-AGB binaries consist of a primary star that has recently evolved off either the RGB or AGB after losing most of its envelope, and a main-sequence companion. They are distinguished by luminosities below and above the RGB…
The majority of stars both host planetary systems and evolve into a white dwarf (WD). To understand their post-main-sequence (PMS) planetary system evolution, we present a search for transiting/eclipsing planets and other Substellar Bodies…
Gravitational interactions and mergers are shaping and reshaping galaxies throughout the observable universe. While observations of interacting galaxies at low redshifts yield detailed information about the processes at work, observations…
Intermediate mass stars (1-8 solar masses) evolve along the Asymptotic Giant Branch after completion of hydrogen and helium core burning. At the tip they lose for several ten to hundred thousand years copious amounts of mass and exhibit…
Binary post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are thought to be the products of a strong but poorly-understood interaction during the AGB phase. The aim of this contribution is to update the orbital elements of a sample of galactic…
Planetary migration is one of the most serious problems to systematically understand the observations of exoplanets. We clarify that the theoretically predicted type II migration is too fast, as well as type I migration, by developing…
Carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars, CH stars and barium stars, among other classes of chemically peculiar stars, are thought to be products of the interaction of low- and intermediate-mass binaries which occurred when the most evolved star…
We discuss the basic physical model and the relevant processes responsible for creating and shaping planetary nebulae out of a cool AGB wind envelope. We show that a hydrodynamical treatment along the upper AGB leads quite naturally to more…
During the last years, many observational studies have revealed that binaries play an active role in the shaping of non spherical planetary nebulae. We review the different works that lead to the direct or indirect evidence for the presence…
Recent studies of Galactic evolution revealed that the dynamics of the stellar component might be one of the key factors when considering galactic habitability. We run an N-body simulation model of the Milky Way, which we evolve for 10 Gyr,…
Understanding the formation and evolution of stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) requires a thorough investigation of the key physical processes involved. While one pathway involves the isolated evolution of massive binary stars,…
Recent observations suggest ongoing planet formation in the innermost parsec of our Galaxy. The super-massive black hole (SMBH) might strip planets or planetary embryos from their parent star, bringing them close enough to be tidally…
The bunching of giant planets at a distance of several stellar radii may be explained by the disruption of the inner part of the disk by the magnetosphere of the star during the T Tauri stage of evolution. The rotating magnetic field of the…
Low- and intermediate-mass stars go through a period of intense mass-loss at the end of their lives in a phase known as the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). During the AGB a significant fraction of their initial mass is expelled in a stellar…
Context. Many Milky Way globular clusters (GCs) host multiple stellar populations, challenging the traditional view of GCs as single-population systems. It has been suggested that second-generation stars could form in a disk from gas lost…
The Thermally-Pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch (TP-AGB) phase of stellar evolution has received attention only recently in galaxy evolution, but is now an important player in our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. Because it is…
We link the onset of pulsation-enhanced, dust-driven winds from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Magellanic Clouds to the star's transition between period--luminosity sequences (from B to C'). This transition occurs at ~60 days…
Astrometry from the Gaia mission has revealed a large population of white dwarf (WD) + main sequence (MS) binaries with periods of $100 - 1000\,$d. These systems have separations intermediate to predictions from standard binary evolution…