Related papers: Three Dimensional Radiation Hydrodynamic Simulatio…
I discuss the role played by short-duration eruptive mass loss in the evolution of very massive stars. Giant eruptions of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) like the 19th century event of eta Carinae can remove large quantities of mass almost…
Stars falling too close to massive black holes in the centres of galaxies can be torn apart by the strong tidal forces. Simulating the subsequent feeding of the black hole with disrupted material has proved challenging because of the range…
Supermassive stars (SMS) are massive hydrogen objects, slowly radiating their gravitational binding energy. Such hypothetical primordial objects may have been the seed of the massive black holes (BHs) observed at the centre of galaxies.…
Classical Wolf-Rayet (cWR) stars are evolved massive stars that have lost most of their H envelope and exhibit dense, extended atmospheres with strong, line-driven winds. Accurately modeling wind launching from optically thick layers…
Recent observations have revealed a population of red massive galaxies at high redshift which are challenging to explain in hierarchical galaxy formation models. We analyze this ``massive galaxy problem'' with two different types of…
From the main sequence to their late evolutionary stages, massive stars spend most of their life as hot stars. Due to their high effective temperatures, the maximum of their emitted flux falls into the ultraviolet (UV) regime. Consequently,…
We show that the turbulent gas in the star-forming regions of galaxies is unstable to wind formation via momentum deposition by radiation pressure or other momentum sources like supernova explosions, even if the system is below the average…
We present new photometric and spectroscopic observations of an unusual luminous blue variable (LBV) in NGC 3432, covering three major outbursts in October 2008, April 2009 and November 2009. Previously, this star experienced an outburst…
We performed 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the inner $\approx 50\%$ radial extent of a $25\ \mathrm{M_\odot}$ star in the early phase of the main sequence and investigate core convection and internal gravity waves in the core-envelope…
Our ability to predict the structure and evolution of stars is in part limited by complex, 3D hydrodynamic processes such as convective boundary mixing. Hydrodynamic simulations help us understand the dynamics of stellar convection and…
To better understand the LBV phenomenon, we analyze multi-epoch and multi-wavelength spectra and photometry of R71. Pre-outburst spectra are analyzed with the radiative transfer code CMFGEN to determine the star's fundamental stellar…
The progenitors of Type IIP supernovae have an apparent upper limit to their initial masses of about 20 solar masses, suggesting that the most massive red supergiants evolve to warmer temperatures before their terminal explosion. But very…
The distribution of stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram narrates their evolutionary history and directly assesses their properties. Placing stars in this diagram however requires the knowledge of their distances and interstellar…
Some studies have claimed the existence of a stellar upper-mass limit of 150 Msun. A factor that is often overlooked concerns the issue that there might be a significant difference between the present-day and the initial mass of the most…
Supermassive stars are Population III stars with masses exceeding $10^4\,M_{\odot}$ that could be the progenitors of the first supermassive black holes. Their interiors are in a regime where radiation pressure dominates the equation of…
The radiation force on dust grains may be dynamically important in driving turbulence and outflows in rapidly star-forming galaxies. Recent studies focus on the highly optically-thick limit relevant to the densest ultra-luminous galaxies…
We study the evolution of the interstellar and circumstellar media around massive stars (M > 40M_{\odot}) from the main sequence through to the Wolf-Rayet stage by means of radiationhydrodynamic simulations. We use publicly available…
Several properties of massive stars with large effects of rotation and radiation are studied. We show that there are 2 roots for the equation giving the rotational velocities at break-up: 1) The usual solution, which is shown to apply when…
The luminous blue variable (LBV) phase is a poorly understood stage in the evolution of high mass stars, characterized for its brevity and instability. The surroundings of LBV stars are excellent test beds to study their dense stellar winds…
In the current paper, we present a study of the spatial distribution of luminous blue variables (LBVs) and various LBV candidates (cLBVs) with respect to OB associations in the M33 galaxy. The identification of blue star groups was based on…