Related papers: Mass loss on the red giant branch: plasmoid-driven…
We suggest that the gap observed at 20,000 K in the horizontal branches of several Galactic globular clusters is caused by a small amount of extra mass loss which occurs when stars start to "peel off" the red giant branch (RGB), i.e., when…
Red supergiant stars represent a key phase in the evolution of massive stars. Recent radiative hydrodynamic simulations suggest that their atmospheres may be the location of large-scale convective motions. As supergiant convection is…
Stellar evolution models of massive stars are very sensitive to the adopted mass-loss scheme. The magnitude and evolution of mass-loss rates significantly affect the main sequence evolution, and the properties of post-main sequence objects,…
In this paper we present new models of massive stars based on recent advancements in the theory of diffusive mixing and a new empirical formulation of the mass-loss rates of red supergiant stars. We compute two sets of stellar models of…
[Abridged] Context: Radiation-driven mass loss plays a key role in the life-cycles of massive stars. However, basic predictions of such mass loss still suffer from significant quantitative uncertainties. Aims: We develop new…
The stellar winds of massive stars show large changes in mass-loss rates and terminal velocities during their evolution from O-star through the Luminous Blue Variable phase to the Wolf-Rayet phase. The luminosity remains approximately…
The chemical enrichment of the Universe; the mass spectrum of planetary nebulae, white dwarfs and gravitational wave progenitors; the frequency distribution of Type I and II supernovae; the fate of exoplanets ... a multitude of phenomena…
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…
The winds observed around asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are generally attributed to radiation pressure on dust, which is formed in the extended dynamical atmospheres of these pulsating, strongly convective stars. Current…
Extreme helium stars are very rare low-mass supergiants in a late stage of evolution. They are probably contracting to become white dwarfs following a violent phase of evolution which caused them to become hydrogen-deficient giants,…
In the final stages of stellar evolution low- to intermediate-mass stars lose their envelope in increasingly massive stellar winds. Such winds affect the interstellar medium and the galactic chemical evolution as well as the circumstellar…
Low- and intermediate-mass stars eject much of their mass during the late, red giant branch (RGB) phase of evolution. The physics of their strong stellar winds is still poorly understood. In the standard model, stellar pulsations extend the…
Over much of the initial mass function, stars are destined to become luminous and cool red giants. They may then be able to produce dust in an atmosphere which has been elevated by strong radial pulsations, and hence drive a wind. The…
We present a brief overview of the theory of stellar winds with a strong emphasis on the radiation-driven outflows from massive stars. The resulting implications for the evolution and fate of massive stars are also discussed. Furthermore,…
We review the various techniques through which wind properties of massive stars - O stars, AB supergiants, Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and cool supergiants - are derived. The wind momentum-luminosity relation (e.g.…
Our understanding of massive star evolution is in flux, due to recent upheavals in our view of mass loss, and observations of a high binary fraction among O-type stars. Mass-loss rates for standard metallicity-dependent winds of hot stars…
The structure and evolution of wind-blown bubbles (WBBs) around massive stars has primarily been investigated using an energy-conserving model of wind-blown bubbles. While this model is useful in explaining the general properties of the…
We discuss the role of mass loss for the evolution of the most massive stars, highlighting the role of the predicted bi-stability jump that might be relevant for the evolution of rotational velocities during or just after the main sequence.…
Mass loss through a stellar wind is an important physical process that steers the evolution of massive stars and controls the properties of their end-of-life products, such as the supernova type and the mass of compact remnants. For an…
A major outstanding problem in stellar astrophysics lies in understanding the wind generation mechanism by which evolved giants lose mass. Phase-resolved observations of eclipsing symbiotic binary systems, containing a mass-losing giant and…