Related papers: Formation and Evolution of Accreting Compact Objec…
Binary stars are pairs of stars that are gravitationally bound, providing in some cases accurate measurements of their masses and radii. As such, they serve as excellent testbeds for the theory of stellar structure and evolution. Moreover,…
One of the key phases of stellar evolution that remains poorly understood is stellar death. We lack a predictive model for how a star of a given mass explodes and what kind of remnant it leaves behind (i.e. the initial-final mass relation,…
Neutron stars (NSs) powered by accretion, which are known as accretion-powered NSs, always locate in binary systems and manifest themselves as X-ray sources. Physical process during accreting material from their companions is a challenging…
Asteroids and comets are remnants from the era of Solar System formation over 4.5 billion years ago, and therefore allow us to address two fundamental questions in astronomy: what was the nature of our protoplanetary disk, and how did the…
The dramatic size evolution of early-type galaxies from z ~ 2 to 0 poses a new challenge in the theory of galaxy formation, which may not be explained by the standard picture. It is shown here that the size evolution can be explained if the…
Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars,…
The conditions that lead to self-regulated star formation, star bursts and the formation of massive stellar clusters are discussed. Massive stars have a strong impact on their environment, especially on the evolution of dwarf galaxies which…
Evolved stars dominate galactic spectra, enrich the galactic medium, expand to change their planetary systems, eject winds of a complex nature, produce spectacular nebulae and illuminate them, and transfer material between binary…
New images of young stars are revolutionizing our understanding of planet formation. ALMA detects large grains in planet-forming disks with few AU scale resolution and scattered light imaging with extreme adaptive optics systems reveal…
We develop a model for the outer gravitationally unstable regions of accretion disks around massive black holes, for primeval or solar abundances. First we study star formation and evolution in a purely gaseous marginally unstable disk, and…
Relativistic jets are observed from accreting and cataclysmic transients throughout the Universe, and have a profound affect on their surroundings. Despite their importance, their launch mechanism is not known. For accreting neutron stars,…
The large number of detected giant exoplanets offers the opportunity to improve our understanding of the formation mechanism, evolution, and interior structure of gas giant planets. The two main models for giant planet formation are core…
Present knowledge indicates that gamma-ray bursts are linked with massive stars. They will become invaluable probes of the early universe and galaxy formation. In the future, it will be possible to use gamma-ray bursts for two purposes: 1)…
The accretion process onto spinning objects in Kerr spacetimes is studied with numerical simulations. Our results show that accretion onto compact objects with Kerr parameter (characterizing the spin) $|a| < M$ and $|a| > M$ is very…
Modern astronomy has finally been able to observe protoplanetary disks in reasonable resolution and detail, unveiling the processes happening during planet formation. These observed processes are understood under the framework of…
Accretion dynamics in the forming of young stars is still object of debate because of limitations in observations and modelling. Through scaled laboratory experiments of collimated plasma accretion onto a solid in the presence of a magnetic…
The X-ray emission from accreting black-holes and neutron stars features strong variability on sub-second time scales, with very complex and broad phenomenology. From high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations to rapidly changing X-ray…
I outline the theory of accretion onto black holes, and its application to observed phenomena such as X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events, and gamma-ray bursts. The dynamics as well as radiative signatures of…
Massive stars are key ingredients in the evolution of the Universe. Yet, important uncertainties and limits persist in our understanding of these objects, even in their early phases, limiting their application as tools to interpret the…
The process of mass accretion onto Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) plays a fundamental role in determining the final stellar mass and setting the initial conditions for planet formation. Despite its critical role, our understanding of…