Related papers: The evolution of red supergiants to supernovae
During the red giant phase, stars loose mass at the highest rate since birth. The mass-loss rate is not fixed, but varies from star-to-star by up to 5\%, resulting in variations of the star's luminosity at the tip of the red giant branch…
The density structure surrounding the iron core of a massive star when it dies is known to have a major effect on whether or not the star explodes. Here we repeat previous surveys of presupernova evolution with some important corrections to…
Red supergiants (RSGs) are evolved massive stars in a stage preceding core-collapse supernova. Understanding evolved-phases of these cool stars is key to understanding the cosmic matter cycle of our Universe, since they enrich the cosmos…
Mass loss in massive stars is crucial to understanding how these stars evolve and explode. Despite increasing evidence indicating its importance, episodic mass loss remains poorly understood. Here we report the results of an optical…
Massive stars can shed material via steady, line-driven winds, eruptive outflows, or mass-transfer onto a binary companion. In the case of single stars, the mass is deposited by the stellar wind into the nearby environment. After the…
We present a nucleosynthesis calculation of a 25 solar mass star of solar composition that includes all relevant isotopes up to polonium. In particular, all stable isotopes and necessary nuclear reaction rates are covered. We follow the…
Rotation appears as a dominant effect in massive star evolution. It largely affects all the model outputs: inner structure, tracks, lifetimes, isochrones, surface compositions, blue to red supergiant ratios, etc. At lower metallicities, the…
There is evidence that some red supergiants (RSGs) experience short lived phases of extreme mass loss, producing copious amounts of dust. These episodic outburst phases help to strip the hydrogen envelope of evolved massive stars,…
Context. A significant fraction (~30%) of massive stars in our Galaxy are moving supersonically through the interstellar medium, which strongly governs their location at the time they end their lives, e.g. die as a supernova and give birth…
A variety of supernova events, including Type IIn supernovae and ultraluminous supernovae, appear to have lost up to solar masses of their envelopes in 10's to 100's of years leading up to the explosion. In order to explain the close timing…
Stars with initial masses in the range of 8-25 solar masses are thought to end their lives as hydrogen-rich supernovae (SNe II). Based on the pre-explosion images of Hubble Space Telescope ($HST$) and $Spitzer$ Space Telescope, we place…
Core collapse of dense massive star clusters is unavoidable and this leads to the formation of massive objects, with a mass up to 1000 $\msun$ and even larger. When these objects become stars, stellar wind mass loss determines their…
I review multiwavelength observations of material seen around different types of evolved massive stars (i.e. red supergiants, yellow hypergiants, luminous blue variables, B[e] supergiants, and Wolf-Rayet stars), concentrating on diagnostics…
Some high-mass stars likely end their lives in underluminous implosions that leave behind a black hole, known as failed supernovae (FSNe). However, neutrinos radiated during proto-neutron star formation generate a weak (Mach $\gtrsim 1$)…
Rotation and mass loss are crucially interlinked properties of massive stars, strongly affecting their evolution and ultimate fate. Massive stars rotating near their breakup limit shed mass centrifugally, creating Be stars with…
SN 2005kd is among the most luminous supernovae (SNe) to be discovered at X-ray wavelengths. We have re-analysed all good angular resolution (better than $20"$ FWHM PSF) archival X-ray data for SN 2005kd. The data reveal an X-ray light…
I discuss observational clues concerning episodic mass-loss properties of massive stars in the time before the final supernova explosion. In particular, I will focus on the mounting evidence that LBVs and related stars are candidates for…
Context. Mass loss of ~0.1-0.3 M$_{\odot}$ from Population II red giant stars (RGB) is a requirement of stellar evolution theory in order to account for several observational evidences in globular clusters. Aims. The aim of this study is to…
The stellar mass range 8<M/Mo<12 corresponds to the most massive AGB stars and the most numerous massive stars. It is host to a variety of supernova progenitors and is therefore very important for galactic chemical evolution and stellar…
The first stars are assumed to be predominantly massive. Although, due to the low initial abundances of heavy elements the line-driven stellar winds are supposed to be inefficient in the first stars, these stars may loose a significant…