Related papers: A Morphological Diagnostic for Dynamical Evolution…
We discuss high-resolution, time-resolved spectra of the caustic exit of the binary microlensing event OGLE 2002-BUL-69 obtained with UVES on the VLT. The source star is a G5III giant in the Galactic Bulge. During such events, the source…
We present the results of a four-month, spectroscopic campaign of the Wolf-Rayet dust-making binary, WR137. We detect only small-amplitude, random variability in the CIII5696 emission line and its integrated quantities (radial velocity,…
We present IFU observations of six emission-line nebulae that surround the central galaxy of cool core clusters. Qualitatively similar nebulae are observed in cool core clusters even when the dynamics and possibly formation and excitation…
Surveys of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have yielded a fairly complete catalog of 154 known stars. We have conducted a comprehensive, multiwavelength study of the interstellar/circumstellar environments of WR…
The breakout of a supernova blast wave from its progenitor star provides strong constraints on the star and its immediate surroundings. These surroundings are shaped by mass loss from the star and can include a wide variety of…
The Orion Molecular Cloud is the nearest massive-star forming region. Massive stars have profound effects on their environment due to their strong radiation fields and stellar winds. Velocity-resolved observations of the [CII]…
Massive stars are powerful cosmic engines. In the phases immediately preceding core-collapse, massive stars in the Galaxy with $M_i \gtrsim 20$ $M_{\odot}$ may appear as classical Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. As the final contribution of a…
Massive stars that have been ejected from their parent cluster and supersonically sailing away through the interstellar medium (ISM) are classified as exiled. They generate circumstellar bow shock nebulae that can be observed. We present…
Context. Oxygen sequence Wolf-Rayet (WO) stars represent a very rare stage in the evolution of massive stars. Their spectra show strong emission lines of helium-burning products, in particular highly ionized carbon and oxygen. The…
The star formation (SF) can be regarded as an engine powering the light emission of spiral galaxies at several wavelengths. SF activity also plays a significant role in the evolution of galaxies. In this thesis we focus on the X-ray…
We report the discovery of weak yet hard X-ray emission from the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR142 with the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope. Being of spectral subtype WO2, WR142 is a massive star in a very advanced evolutionary stage, short before its…
The evolution of massive stars is only partly understood. Observational constraints can be obtained from the study of massive stars located in young massive clusters. The ESO Public Survey VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) discovered…
Images and longslit, echelle spectra of the \Ha emission from 14 dwarf galaxies and M82 have been used to identify expanding shells of ionized gas. Supershells (radius $>~300$ pc) are found in 12 of the dwarfs. The measured shell sizes and…
We propose that the emission of the high excitation [OIV] line observed with ISO in NGC 5253 and II Zw 40 is due to the presence of hot Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in these objects. We construct a consistent evolutionary synthesis and…
Most of the Milky Way's evolved massive stellar population is hidden from view. We can attempt to remedy this situation with near-infrared observations, and in this paper we present our method for detecting Wolf-Rayet stars in highly…
Available data for novae show that the X-ray and visible spectral regions correlate with each other as they evolve. Large differences in ionization exist simultaneously in the two wavelength regimes, and a straightforward model is proposed…
The most massive evolved stars (above 50 M_sun) undergo a phase of extreme mass loss in which their evolution is reversed from a redward to a blueward motion in the HRD. In this phase the stars are known as Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs)…
While most of the low-mass stars stay hydrogen-rich on their surface throughout their evolution, a considerable fraction of white dwarfs as well as central stars of planetary nebulae have a hydrogen-deficient surface composition. The…
Context: The morphology of massive star formation in the central regions of galaxies is an important tracer of the dynamical processes that govern the evolution of disk, bulge, and nuclear activity. Aims: We present optical imaging of the…
The role of planetary nebulae as probes for the galactic chemical evolution is reviewed. Their abundances throughout the Galaxy are discussed for key elements, in particular oxygen and other alpha elements. The abundance distribution…