Related papers: s-process Enriched Evolved Binaries in the Galaxy …
Half or more of stars more massive than our Sun are orbited by a companion star in a binary system. Many binaries have short enough orbits that the evolution of both stars is greatly altered by an exchange of mass and angular momentum…
We focus on post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binaries and study the interaction between the different components of these complex systems. These components comprise the post-AGB primary, a main sequence secondary, a circumbinary…
B[\,e\,] supergiants are a rare and unusual class of massive and luminous stars, characterised by opaque circumstellar envelopes. GG Carinae is a binary whose primary component is a B[\,e\,] supergiant and whose variability has remained…
We present a determination of precise fundamental physical parameters of twenty detached, double- lined, eclipsing binary stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) containing G- or early K-type giant stars. Eleven are new systems, the…
We analyse the planetary nebulae (PNe) population of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), based on evolutionary models of stars with metallicities in the range $10^{-3} \leq Z \leq 4\times 10^{-3}$ and mass $0.9 M\odot < M < 8M\odot$, evolved…
Two types of models for the formation of semi-periodic concentric multiple shells (M-shells) around asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and in planetary nebulae are compared against observations. Models that attribute the M-shells to…
Low and intermediate mass stars with super solar metallicities comprise a known portion of the universe. Yet yields for asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with metallicities greater than $Z=0.04$ do not exist in the literature. This…
This paper reports variations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) features that were found in Spitzer Space Telescope spectra of carbon-rich post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The paper…
The chemical enrichments detected in CEMP-$s$ stars are believed to be the consequence of a mass-transfer episode from a now extinct AGB primary star. This hypothesis is borne out by the fact that most CEMP-$s$ stars exhibit RV variations…
Low- and intermediate-mass stars evolve through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), when an efficient mass-loss process removes a significant fraction of their initial mass. A substantial increase in the mass-loss rate at the end of the AGB…
Common envelope evolution is a critical but still poorly understood phase in binary evolution. It plays a key role in forming close binaries such as hot subdwarfs, double white dwarfs, X-ray binaries, and double neutron stars. However, its…
The majority of close massive binary stars with initial periods of a few days experience a contact phase, in which both stars overflow their Roche lobes simultaneously. We perform the first dedicated study of the evolution of massive…
I discuss recent new models of post-Asymptotic Giant Branch stellar evolution. These models aim to clarify the evolutionary origin and status of a variety of hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars such as central stars of planetary nebulae of…
We selected a sample of post-AGB candidates in the Magellanic Clouds on the basis of their near- and mid-infrared colour characteristics. Fifteen of the most optically bright post-AGB candidates were observed with the South African Large…
This thesis is aimed at clarifying one of the least studied phases of stellar evolution: the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Recent results obtained for Galactic globular clusters (GCs) suggest that the AGB stage may contain crucial…
Aluminium-26 is a radioactive isotope which can be synthesized within asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, primarily through hot bottom burning. Studies exploring $^{26}$Al production within AGB stars typically focus on single-stars;…
We report the discovery of 24 spectroscopic binary companions to giant stars. We fully constrain the orbital solution for 6 of these systems. We cannot unambiguously derive the orbital elements for the remaining stars because the phase…
A review is presented of the most relevant results obtained in the last few years on this rare class of astronomical sources. Multi-wavelength analysis of an increasing number of post-AGB stars reveal that they constitute a more…
The origin of chemically peculiar stars and non-zero eccentricity in evolved close binaries have been long-standing problems in binary stellar evolution. Answers to these questions may trace back to an intense mass transfer during AGB…
The goal of this study is to reconstruct the evolution and the dust formation processes during the final AGB phases of a sample of carbon-rich, post-AGB Galactic stars, with particular attention to the determination of the past mass-loss…