Related papers: LBV (Candidate) Nebulae: Bipolarity and Outflows
MWC 930 is a star just ~2{\deg} above the Galactic plane whose nature is not clear and that has not been studied in detail so far. While a post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) classification was proposed in the past, studies of its optical…
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…
Stellar evolution models of massive stars are important for many areas of astrophysics, for example nucleosynthesis yields, supernova progenitor models and understanding physics under extreme conditions. Turbulence occurs in stars primarily…
We discuss the evolution of binaries with moderately high masses (about 10 - 30 solar masses), and with periods of about 3 - 300d, corresponding mostly to early Case B. These are usually thought to evolve either by reasonably conservative…
We present mid-IR observations of the Galactic Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) HR Car and its associated nebula carried out with the Spitzer Space Telescope using both IRAC and IRS, as part of a GTO program aimed to study stellar ejecta from…
Winds from massive stars (> 8 solar masses) result in the formation of wind-blown "bubbles" around these stars. In this paper we study, via two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic simulations, the onset and growth of turbulence during the…
The properties of radial nonlinear pulsations of massive blue stars are computed with the MESA software instrument in its dynamical mode. Pulsational instabilities could be computationally detected and followed if the evolutionary timestep…
The nebular evolution is followed from the vicinity of the asymptotic-giant branch across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram until the white-dwarf domain is reached, using various central-star models coupled to different initial envelope…
Strong mass loss on the red giant branch (RGB) can result in the formation of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars. The EHB stars spend most of their He core and shell burning phase at high temperatures and produce copious ultraviolet…
We are re-analyzing the MACHO variable star database to explore the relationships between pulsation, evolution, and mass loss in evolved stars. We will analyze the multi-periodic properties of long period variable (LPV) stars, 50% of which…
Our understanding of massive star evolution is in flux, due to recent upheavals in our view of mass loss, and observations of a high binary fraction among O-type stars. Mass-loss rates for standard metallicity-dependent winds of hot stars…
Stellar evolution theory is most uncertain for massive stars. For reliable predictions of the evolution of massive stars and their final fate, solid constraints on the physical parameters, and their changes along the evolution and in…
In recent years, it has been discovered that massive stars commonly exhibit a non-coherent form of variability in their light curves referred to as stochastic low frequency (SLF) variability. Various physical mechanisms can produce SLF…
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…
We identify and quantify the set of constraints that neutron star-normal star binaries must satisfy in order to become observable LMXBs. These constraints are related to (i) the thermal and hydrostatic equilibrium of the donors, (ii) the…
High surface density, rapidly star-forming galaxies are observed to have $\approx 50-100\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$ line-of-sight velocity dispersions, which are much higher than expected from supernova driving alone, but may arise from large-scale…
We present two new luminous blue variable (LBV) candidate stars discovered in the M33 galaxy. We identified these stars (Valeev et al. 2010) as massive star candidates at the final stages of evolution, presumably with a notable interstellar…
We develop analytic and numerical models of the properties of super-Eddington stellar winds, motivated by phases in stellar evolution when super-Eddington energy deposition (via, e.g., unstable fusion, wave heating, or a binary companion)…
The identification of stellar-mass black-hole mergers with up to 80 Msun as powerful sources of gravitational wave radiation led to increased interest in the physics of the most massive stars. The largest sample of possible progenitors of…
The discovery of an excess of light in the far-ultraviolet (UV) spectrum in elliptical galaxies was a major surprise in 1969. While it is now clear that this UV excess is caused by an old population of hot helium-burning stars without large…