Related papers: Accounting for planet-shaped planetary nebulae
We present a population synthesis calculation to derive the total number of planetary nebulae (PN) in the Galaxy that descend from single stars and stars in binary systems. Using the most recent literature results on galactic and stellar…
We present a novel approach to address dust production by low- and intermediate-mass stars. We study the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase, during which the formation of dust takes place, from the perspective of post-AGB and planetary…
(Abridged) Inspired by the Kepler planet discoveries, we consider the thermal contraction of planets close to their parent star, under the influence of evaporation. The mass-loss rates are based on hydrodynamic models of evaporation that…
Half or more of stars more massive than our Sun are orbited by a companion star in a binary system. Many binaries have short enough orbits that the evolution of both stars is greatly altered by an exchange of mass and angular momentum…
I calculate the specific angular momentum of mass accreted by a binary system embedded in the dense wind of a mass losing asymptotic giant branch star. The accretion flow is of the Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton type. For most of the relevant…
Aims: We investigate the influence of high-energy stellar radiation at close-in orbits on atmospheric mass loss during stellar evolution of a G-type star. Methods: High-energy stellar luminosity varies over a wide range for G field stars.…
In view of their nature, planetary nebulae have very short lifetimes, and the chemical abundances derived so far have a natural bias favoring younger objects. In this work, we report physical parameters and abundances for a sample of old…
It is well established that mass loss from AGB stars due to dust driven winds cannot be arbitrarily low. We model the mass loss from carbon rich AGB stars using detailed frequency-dependent radiation hydrodynamics including dust formation.…
Mass loss bridges the gap between massive stars and supernovae (SNe) in two major ways: (i) theoretically it is the amount of mass lost that determines the mass of the star prior to explosion, and (ii) observations of the circumstellar…
We present a search for rings or arcs in the haloes of planetary nebulae (PNe). We discovered such structures in eight PNe, tripling the sample of PNe with known rings. This shows that, contrary to what was believed to date, the occurrence…
We use a collection of 14 well-measured neutron star masses to strengthen the case that a substantial fraction of these neutron stars was formed via electron-capture supernovae (SNe) as opposed to Fe-core collapse SNe. The e-capture SNe are…
In recent years a paradigm shift has occurred in exoplanet science, wherein low-mass stars are increasingly viewed as a foundational pillar of the search for potentially habitable worlds in the solar neighborhood. However, the formation…
Most stars will experience episodes of substantial mass loss at some point in their lives. For very massive stars, mass loss dominates their evolution, although the mass loss rates are not known exactly, particularly once the star has left…
We conduct numerical simulations of axisymmetrical jets expanding into a spherical AGB slow wind. The three-dimensional flow is simulated with an axially symmetric numerical code. We concentrate on jets that are active for a relatively…
A large class of stellar systems (e.g., planetary nebulae (PNe), supernova envelopes, LBV stars, young stars in formation) shows structures in their accretion/ejection phase that have similar characteristics. In particular, one currently…
We study the bending of jets in binary stellar systems. A compact companion accretes mass from the slow wind of the mass-losing primary star, forms an accretion disk, and blows two opposite jets. These fast jets are bent by the slow wind.…
The planets of our solar system formed from a gas-dust disk. However, there are some properties of the solar system that are peculiar in this context. First, the cumulative mass of all objects beyond Neptune (TNOs) is only a fraction of…
Measurements of stellar mass loss rates are used to assess how wind strength varies with coronal activity and age for solar-like stars. Mass loss generally increases with activity, but we find evidence that winds suddenly weaken at a…
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…
I discuss observational evidence -- independent of the direct spectral diagnostics of stellar winds themselves -- suggesting that mass-loss rates for O stars need to be revised downward by roughly a factor of three or more, in line with…