Related papers: Grown-up stars physics with MATISSE
Massive young stellar objects (MYSO) are surrounded by massive dusty envelopes. Our aim is to establish their density structure on scales of ~1000 AU, i.e. a factor 10 increase in angular resolution compared to similar studies performed in…
The ASSESS project aims to determine the role of episodic mass-loss in the evolution of massive stars. As a first step, we construct a catalog of spectroscopically identified dusty, evolved massive stars in ten southern galaxies for which…
We investigate the physical processes which lead to the formation of massive stars. Using a numerical simulation of the formation of a stellar cluster from a turbulent molecular cloud, we evaluate the relevant contributions of fragmentation…
Over the last years a new generation of model atmosphere codes, which include the effects of metal line-blanketing of millions of spectral lines in NLTE, has been used to re-determine the properties of massive stars through quantitative…
Despite their paucity, massive hot stars are real cosmic engines of fundamental importance in shaping our Universe, from its very early stages up to its current appearance. Understanding the physics of massive stars is then a key issue for…
The Next Generation Very Large Array will have excellent sensitivity for detecting the thermal emission from massive stars and from red giants. This will allow direct imaging of the winds for a large number of hot massive stars. It will…
Asteroseismology provides powerful means to probe stellar interiors. The oscillations frequencies are closely related to stellar interior properties via the density and sound speed profiles. Since these are tightly linked with the mass and…
The main achievements, current developments and prospects of molecular studies in external galaxies are reviewed. They are put in the context of the results of several decades of studies of molecules in local interstellar medium, their…
Exploring dark matter via observations of extreme astrophysical environments -- defined here as heavy compact objects such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, as well as supernovae and compact object merger events -- has been a…
The impact of HST photometry and European astronomy in studies concerning the star formation histories of resolved galaxies is described. Our current knowledge of the star formation history of systems within 10-20 Mpc, as derived from the…
Long-baseline interferometry at infrared wavelengths allows the innermost regions around young stars to be observed. These observations directly probe the location of the dust and gas in the disks. The characteristic sizes of these regions…
We present a detailed study of the evolution of massive stars of masses 15, 20, 25 and 30 $\msun$ assuming solar-like initial chemical composition. The stellar sequences were evolved through the advanced burning phases up to the end of core…
Stars are unique bodies of the Universe where self-gravity compress matter to such high temperature and density that several nuclear fusion reactions ignite, providing enough feedback against further compression for a time that can be even…
The evolution of massive stars is still partly unconstrained. Mass, metallicity, mass loss and rotation are the main drivers of stellar evolution. Binarity and magnetic field may also significantly affect the fate of massive stars. Our goal…
The majority of the ultimate main-sequence mass of a star is assembled in the protostellar phase, where a forming star is embedded in an infalling envelope and encircled by a protoplanetary disk. Studying mass accretion in protostars is…
Plans for the next generation of optical-infrared telescopes, the Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), are well advanced. With primary apertures in excess of 20m, they will revolutionise our ground-based capabilities. In this review I…
Existing (Spitzer Space Telescope) and upcoming (Herschel Space Telescope) facilities are deepening our understanding of the role of dust in tracing the energy budget and chemical evolution of galaxies. The tools we are developing while…
We present a simple, largely empirical but physically motivated model, which is designed to interpret consistently multi-wavelength observations from large samples of galaxies in terms of physical parameters, such as star formation rate,…
We present a model for the formation of massive ($M > 10 M_\odot$) stars through accretion-induced collisions in the cores of embedded dense stellar clusters. This model circumvents the problem of accreting onto a star whose luminosity is…
Masking the horizontal branch and giant stars allows unambiguous measurements of mean age and metallicity in simple old stellar populations from metal and hydrogen line strengths. Billion year resolution is possible in the luminous halos of…