Related papers: White dwarf - main sequence star collisions from w…
Recent surveys have identified seven hypervelocity stars (HVSs) in the halo of the Milky Way. Most of these stars may have originated from the breakup of binary star systems by the nuclear black hole SgrA*. In some instances, the breakup of…
In this paper we review the current status of research on the observational and theoretical characteristics of isolated and binary magnetic white dwarfs (MWDs). Magnetic fields of isolated MWDs are observed to lie in the range 10^3-10^9G.…
Deriving precise stellar ages is a challenging task. Consequently, age-dependent relations - such as the age-metallicity and age-velocity dispersion relations of the Milky Way, or the age-rotation-activity relation of low-mass stars - are…
The wind of an asymptotic-giant-branch stars is sufficiently strong that if it is slightly asymmetric, it can propel the star outside of the open cluster of its birth or significantly alter its trajectory through a globular cluster;…
Massive stars play a major role in the evolution of their host galaxies, and serve as important probes of the distant Universe. It has been established that the majority of massive stars reside in close binaries and will interact with their…
We compare the mass distribution of central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPN) with those of their progeny, white dwarfs (WD). We use a dynamical method to measure masses with an uncertainty of 0.02 M$_\odot$. The CSPN mass distribution is…
White dwarfs (WDs) can be tidally disrupted only by massive black holes (MBHs) with masses less than $\sim10^5 M_\odot$. These tidal interactions feed material to the MBH well above its Eddington limit, with the potential to launch a…
We have discovered a detached pair of white dwarfs (WDs) with a 12.75 min orbital period and a 1,315 km/s radial velocity amplitude. We measure the full orbital parameters of the system using its light curve, which shows ellipsoidal…
Nearby companions alter the evolution of massive stars in binary systems. Using a sample of Galactic massive stars in nearby young clusters, we simultaneously measure all intrinsic binary characteristics relevant to quantify the frequency…
The astrophysical origins of the heaviest stable elements that we observe today in the Solar System are still not fully understood. Recent studies have demonstrated that H-accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in a binary sys- tem exploding as type…
25%-50% of all white dwarfs (WDs) host observable and dynamically active remnant planetary systems based on the presence of close-in circumstellar dust and gas and photospheric metal pollution. Currently-accepted theoretical explanations…
Three periodically variable stars have recently been discovered (V407 Vul, P=9.5 min; ES Cet, P=10.3 min; RX J0806.3+1527, P=5.3 min) with properties that suggest that their photometric periods are also their orbital periods, making them…
We study the strongly magnetized white dwarf configurations in a self-consistent manner as a progenitor of the over-luminous type-Ia supernovae. We compute static equilibria of white dwarf stars containing a strong magnetic field and…
White dwarfs (WDs) in open star clusters are a highly useful ensemble of stars. While numerous researchers use open cluster WDs to study the initial-final mass relation, numerous other evolutionary studies are also enabled by this sample of…
Mergers of white dwarfs (WDs) may lead to a variety of transient astrophysical events, SNIa being one possible outcome. Lyutikov & Toonen (2017, 2019) argued that mergers of WDs result, under various parameter regimes, in unusual central…
Planets and other low-mass binary companions to stars face a variety of potential fates as their host stars move off the main sequence and grow to subgiants and giants. Stellar mass loss tends to make orbits expand, and tidal torques tend…
Strong magnetic fields are observed in a substantial fraction of upper main sequence stars and white dwarfs. Many such stars are observed to exhibit photometric modulations as the magnetic poles rotate in and out of view, which could be a…
Despite the importance of magnetic fields in massive stars, their origin is widely debated and still not well understood. With the mounting evidence for the importance of studying magnetic fields in interacting massive binary and multiple…
We present a large parameter study where we investigate the structure of white dwarf (WD) merger remnants after the dynamical phase. A wide range of WD masses and compositions are explored and we also probe the effect of different initial…
Massive stars feature highly energetic stellar winds that interact whenever two such stars are bound in a binary system. The signatures of these interactions are nowadays found over a wide range of wavelengths, including the radio domain,…