Related papers: Theory, Simulations and Observations of Stellar Me…
We use numerical simulation to investigate the triggering of starbursts in merging disk galaxies. The properties of the merger-driven starbursts are sensitive to the structure of the progenitor galaxies; specifically, to the amount of…
Massive stars (those larger than 8 solar masses at formation) have radiative envelopes that cannot sustain a dynamo, the mechanism that produces magnetic fields in lower-mass stars. Despite this, approximately 7\% of massive stars have…
The evolution of our Universe is strongly influenced by the attractive force of gravity. A key aspect of this evolution, therefore, is the merging of galaxies. Here, we explore the role of mergers in shaping the properties of massive…
We study the shape and evolution of the star formation main sequence in three independently developed semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. We focus, in particular, on the characterization of the model galaxies that are significantly…
Blue stragglers are natural phenomena in star clusters. They originate through mass transfer in isolated binaries, as well as through encounters between two or more stars, in a complex interplay between stellar dynamics and stellar…
In the present paper we combine an N-body code that simulates the dynamics of young dense stellar systems with a massive star evolution handler that accounts in a realistic way for the effects of stellar wind mass loss. We discuss two…
Recent detections of gravitational waves from mergers of neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs) in the low and high-end mass gap regimes pose a puzzle to standard stellar and binary evolution theory. Mass-gap mergers may originate from…
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,…
Blue stragglers in globular clusters are abnormally massive stars that should have evolved off the stellar main sequence long ago. There are two known processes that can create these objects: direct stellar collisions and binary evolution.…
A number of theories have been put forward to explain the bi-modal stellar rotational distribution observed in young massive clusters. These include stellar mergers and interactions induced in binary systems, and the role of angular…
Galaxy mergers are known to trigger bursts of central star formation, which should therefore lead to stellar mass growth in their inner regions. However, observational measurements of this `burst mass fraction' are scant. Here, we assemble…
In this chapter we consider two formation channels for blue straggler stars: 1) the merger of two single stars via a collision, and 2) those produced via mass transfer within a binary. We review how computer simulations show that stellar…
Products of stellar mergers are predicted to be common in stellar populations and can potentially explain stars with peculiar properties. When the merger occurs after the initially more massive star has evolved into the Hertzsprung gap…
The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, X-ray binaries and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars affected…
A significant fraction of stars experience close interactions, including collisions resulting from gravitational encounters and mergers within close binary systems. These processes can produce more massive stars that may give rise to…
We study the nucleosynthesis and the induced mixing during the merging of massive stars inside a common envelope. The systems of interest are close binaries, initially consisting of a massive red supergiant and a main-sequence companion of…
Determining how galaxies accumulate stellar mass is paramount to understanding the Universe. Two primary mechanisms drive this process: star-formation (SF) & mergers. Our understanding of star formation, and to some degree the processes…
Rapidly rotating stars are readily produced in binary systems. An accreting star in a binary system can be spun up by mass accretion and quickly approach the break-up limit. Mergers between two stars in a binary are expected to result in…
Mergers of gas-rich galaxies lead to gravitationally driven increases in gas pressure that can trigger intense bursts of star and cluster formation. Although star formation itself is clustered, most newborn stellar aggregates are unbound…
Two neutron stars merge somewhere in the Universe approximately every 10 seconds, creating violent explosions observable in gravitational waves and across the electromagnetic spectrum. The transformative coincident gravitational-wave and…