Related papers: A neutron star candidate in the long-period binary…
A spectroscopic orbit has been recently found by R. Griffin for the long known barium star 56 Peg, which is also a strong X-ray source. This short-period, low mass-function orbit raises several questions regarding the history of the system.…
Long-period binary systems containing a B-type hot subdwarf (sdB) and a main-sequence companion are thought to originate from binary interactions involving stable mass transfer from the red giant, the progenitor of the sdB, to the MS…
ER UMa stars are a recently recognized small subgroup of SU UMa-type dwarf novae, which are characterized by the extremely high outburst frequency and short (19--48 d) supercycles. From the current thermal-tidal disk instability scheme,…
Recent studies have shown that close-in brown dwarfs in the mass range 35-55 M$_{\rm Jup}$ are almost depleted as companions to stars, suggesting that objects with masses above and below this gap might have different formation mechanisms.…
Theoretical models of very metal-poor intermediate-mass Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars predict a large overabundance of primary nitrogen. The very metal-poor, carbon-enhanced, s-process-rich stars, which are thought to be the polluted…
The current theory predicts that hot subdwarf binaries are produced from evolved low-mass binaries that have undergone mass transfer and drastic mass loss during either a common envelope phase or a stable Roche lobe overflow while on the…
We provide an analysis of the mass ratio distribution as gathered from almost all of the 559 orbital solutions derived by Professor Roger Griffin in his long series in the Observatory Magazine about "Spectroscopic Binary Orbits from…
GRB 111005A, one long duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) occurred within a metal-rich environment that lacks massive stars with $M_{\rm ZAMS}\geq 15M_\odot$, is not coincident with supernova emission down to stringent limit and thus should be…
We have computed, based on 17 infrared radial velocities, the first set of orbital elements for the M giant in the symbiotic binary V2116 Ophiuchi. The giant's companion is a neutron star, the bright X-ray source GX 1+4. We find an orbital…
The Rotten Egg Nebula has at its core a binary composed of a Mira star and an A-type companion at a separation >10 au. It has been hypothesized to have formed by strong binary interactions between the Mira and a companion in an eccentric…
The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer has revealed a T8.5 brown dwarf (WISE J111838.70+312537.9) that exhibits common proper motion with a solar-neighborhood (8 pc) quadruple star system - Xi Ursae Majoris. The angular separation is 8.5…
The distinguishing feature of the evolution of close binary stars is the role played by the mass exchange between the component stars. Whether the mass transfer is dynamically stable is one of the essential questions in binary evolution. In…
The majority of massive stars are part of binary systems that may interact during their evolution. However, not many RSGs are known binaries, and only a few have constrained orbital parameters. We search the available TESS photometry for…
We report the discovery of two Li-rich giant stars (fainter than the red giant branch bump) in the stellar system Omega Centauri using GIRAFFE-FLAMES spectra. These two stars have A(Li)=1.65 and 2.40 dex and they belong to the main…
We investigate the possible effects of the supernova ejecta hitting the companion star in iPTF 13bvn, focusing on the observable features when it becomes visible. iPTF 13bvn is a type Ib supernova that may become the first case that its…
Context. While most (if not all) Type I Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) are characterised by spreads in the abundances of light chemical elements (e.g. Li, N, O, Na, Mg, Al), it is not yet well established whether similar spreads may…
Understanding the nucleosynthesis and evolution of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars is of primary importance as they are the main producers of some of the key elements in the Universe. They are the predominant sites for the slow…
The binary star system gamma Cephei is unusual in that it harbours a stable giant planet around the larger star at a distance only about a tenth of that of the stellar separation. Numerical simulations are carried out into the stability of…
We measure chemical abundance ratios and radial velocities in four massive (i.e., young) [alpha/Fe]-rich red giant stars using high-resolution high-S/N spectra from ESPaDOnS fed by Gemini-GRACES. Our differential analysis ensures that our…
Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets outside the solar system, most of which orbit stars that will eventually evolve into red giants and then into white dwarfs. During the red giant phase, any close-orbiting planets will be…