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Almost since the beginning, massive stars and their resultant supernovae have played a crucial role in the Universe. These objects produce tremendous amounts of energy and new, heavy elements that enrich galaxies, encourage new stars to…
The embedded phase of star formation is the crucial phase where most of the stellar mass is assembled. Velocity-resolved spectra reveal an infalling envelope, bipolar outflows, and perhaps an infant circumstellar disk -- all locked together…
There is growing evidence that the Sun might have formed within a nebula impacted by at least one SNR. In this scenario, ejecta and shocks from SNRs may have provided the elements on which life as we know it is based. Investigating the…
Discoveries in the last few years have revolutionized our knowledge of the universe and our ideas of its ultimate fate. Measurements of the expansion of the universe show that it is not slowing down under normal gravity but accelerating due…
Stars accrete near invisible hydrogen dominated agglomerates. This population, the `dark matter,' effects the nature of stars. Measurements show plasma streams impacting Earth, planets, Sun and stars. This mass-energy source contradicts…
In nature there are various pairs of observed phenomena and observing scientific techniques which are elegantly coupled with each other. A very general and well known example is the fact that the metal we use to build telescopes were once…
Stars are fossils that retain the history of their host galaxies. Carbon and heavier elements are created inside stars and are ejected when they die. From the spatial distribution of elements in galaxies, it is therefore possible to…
The outflows of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are rich astrochemical laboratories, hosting different chemical regimes: from non-equilibrium chemistry close to the star, to dust formation further out, and finally photochemistry in the…
Understanding the origin of the elements has been a decades long pursuit, with many open questions still remaining. Old stars found in the Milky Way and its dwarf satellite galaxies can provide answers because they preserve clean elemental…
A forefront area of research concerns the exploration of the properties of hadronic matter under extreme conditions of temperature and density, and the determination of the equation of state--the relation between pressure, temperature and…
Dark Stars are stellar objects made (almost entirely) of hydrogen and helium, but powered by the heat from Dark Matter annihilation, rather than by fusion. They are in hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium, but with an unusual power source.…
How are the heavy elements formed? This has been a key open question in physics for decades. Recent direct detections of neutron star mergers and observations of evolved stars show signatures of chemical elements in the blue range of their…
No doubt, among the most exciting discoveries of the third millennium thus far are {\bf Oscillations of Massive Neutrinos} and {\bf Dark Energy} that leads to an accelerated expansion of the Universe. Accordingly, Nuclear Physics is…
We review recent theoretical results on the formation of the first stars and quasars in the universe, and emphasize related open questions. In particular, we list important differences between the star formation process at high redshifts…
Fusion reactions with light nuclei play an essential role in understanding the energy production, the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements and the evolution of massive stars. The measurement of key fusion reactions at stellar energies is…
Emission and absorption line observations of molecules in late-type stars are a vital component in our understanding of stellar evolution, dust formation and mass loss in these objects. The molecular composition of the gas in the…
Submillimeter observations with ALMA will be the essential next step in our understanding of how stars and planets form. Key projects range from detailed imaging of the collapse of pre-stellar cores and measuring the accretion rate of…
Neutron stars are versatile in their application to studying various important aspects of fundamental physics, in particular strong-field gravity tests and the equation of state for super-dense nuclear matter at low temperatures. However,…
Stellar nucleosynthesis is the corner-stone of many astrophysical problems. Its understanding, which can be tested by countless observations, leads to insights into the stellar structure and evolution, and provides crucial clues to the…
The dramatic confrontation between new observations and theories of the early and recent universe makes cosmology one of the most rapidly advancing fields in the physical sciences. The universe is a unique laboratory in which to probe…