Related papers: Luminous Blue Variables
GR 290 (M 33 V0532 = Romano's Star) is a unique variable star in the M33 galaxy, which simultaneously displays variability typical for luminous blue variable (LBV) stars and physical parameters typical for nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet (WR)…
To better understand the LBV phenomenon, we analyze multi-epoch and multi-wavelength spectra and photometry of R71. Pre-outburst spectra are analyzed with the radiative transfer code CMFGEN to determine the star's fundamental stellar…
Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs) are a heterogeneous class which dominate an intermediate phase of galaxy evolution. These sources account for the majority of the star formation between 0.3<z<1, yet the identity of their present-day…
Massive stars typically undergo short-lived post-main sequence evolutionary phases with strong mass loss and occasional mass eruptions. Many of such massive stars in transition phases have been identified based on their dusty envelopes. The…
(abridged) We present VLT/X-shooter spectroscopic observations in the wavelength range 3000-23000A of the extremely metal-deficient blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxy PHL 293B containing a luminous blue variable (LBV) star. We determine…
Very massive stars in the final phases of their lives often show unpredictable outbursts that can mimic supernovae, so-called, "SN impostors", but the distinction is not always straigthforward. Here we present observations of a luminous…
Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs) are rare extragalactic events of unknown origin. Tidal disruptions of white dwarfs by intermediate mass black holes (BHs), mergers of BHs and Wolf-Rayet stars, and failed supernovae are among…
We review the various techniques through which wind properties of massive stars - O stars, AB supergiants, Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and cool supergiants - are derived. The wind momentum-luminosity relation (e.g.…
We study recent Intermediate Luminosity Optical Transients (ILOTs) and major eruptions of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), and strengthen claims for a similar mechanism powering both. This process is a short duration release of gravitational…
[abridged] Context: Very few examples of luminous blue variable (LBV) stars or LBV candidates (LBVc) are known, particularly at metallicities below the SMC. The LBV phase is crucial for the evolution of massive stars, and its behavior with…
We present the first systematic spectropolarimetric study of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds, in order to investigate the geometries of their winds. We find that at least half of our sample show…
Luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) are a diverse class of galaxies characterized by high luminosity, blue color, and high surface brightness that sit at the critical juncture of galaxies evolving from the blue to the red sequence. As…
We report the fifth confirmed Luminous Blue Variable/S Doradus variable in M31. In 2006, J004526.62+415006.3 had the spectrum of hot Fe II emission line star with strong P Cygni profiles in the Balmer lines. In 2010, its absorption line…
Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) represent the end of a massive star's life as it is about to turn into a supernova. Obtaining complete samples of such stars across a large range of metallicities poses observational challenges, but presents us with…
Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs) are a class of extragalactic transient of uncertain origin. Several hypotheses have been put forward which could feasibly be consistent with the sample number of events discovered thus far,…
Observations of core-collapse supernovae suggest that some massive stars undergo intense mass loss shortly before explosion, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here we report evidence of giant outbursts of clumpy material from a…
I review multiwavelength observations of material seen around different types of evolved massive stars (i.e. red supergiants, yellow hypergiants, luminous blue variables, B[e] supergiants, and Wolf-Rayet stars), concentrating on diagnostics…
I present the results of radiation-driven mass-loss predictions for hot stars of all mass. Mass loss is an important aspect for the evolution of massive stars, the rotational properties of the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts, and is…
Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs) are compact, star-forming galaxies that are rarely observed in the local universe but abundant at z=1. This increase in LCBG number density over cosmic lookback time roughly follows the increase in the…
Long secondary period (LSP) variable stars are a subclass of long-period variables (LPV) that exhibit additional long-term variability alongside pulsations. Despite being observed in over 30% of LPVs, the reason behind the LSP phenomenon is…