Related papers: Massive Stars in Transition
In this chapter I review theoretical models for the formation of very massive stars. After a brief overview of some relevant observations, I spend the bulk of the chapter describing two possible routes to the formation of very massive…
The finding of a Type Ic supernova connected with GRB 030329 showed a massive star origin for this burst, supporting evidence for this association in previous bursts with lightcurve bumps at the appropriate time for a supernova. Here, we…
We present two classes of stars with yet unknown evolutionary phase: the B[e] supergiants and the so-called unclassified B[e] stars. While the B[e] supergiants are luminous post-main sequence stars with high mass progenitors, not much is…
As a star evolves off the Main Sequence, it endures major structural changes that are capable of determining the fate of the planets orbiting it. Throughout its evolution along the Red Giant Branch, the star increases its radius by two…
Supernovae explosions of massive stars are nowadays believed to result from a two-step process, with an initial gravitational core collapse followed by an expansion of matter after a bouncing on the core. This scenario meets several…
The last part of SpS5 dealt with the circumstellar environment. Structures are indeed found around several types of massive stars, such as blue and red supergiants, as well as WRs and LBVs. As shown in the last years, the potential of IR…
This chapter discusses the implications of X-ray binaries on our knowledge of Type Ibc and Type II supernovae. X-ray binaries contain accreting neutron stars and stellar--mass black holes which are the end points of massive star evolution.…
Rotation and mass loss are crucially interlinked properties of massive stars, strongly affecting their evolution and ultimate fate. Massive stars rotating near their breakup limit shed mass centrifugally, creating Be stars with…
The similarity between the mass and spatial distributions of pre-stellar gas cores in star-forming clouds and young stars in clusters provides strong circumstantial evidence that these gas cores are the direct progenitors of individual…
We present a review of observational studies of high-mass star formation, based mainly on our own research. It includes surveys of high-mass star-forming regions in various molecular lines and in continuum, investigations of filamentary…
When a massive star ends its life, its core collapses, forming a neutron star or black hole and producing some of the most energetic explosions in the universe. Core-collapse supernovae and long-duration gamma-ray bursts are the violent…
While the modern stellar IMF shows a rapid decline with increasing mass, theoretical investigations suggest that very massive stars (>100 solar masses) may have been abundant in the early universe. Other calculations also indicate that,…
We continue our numerical analysis of the morphological and energetic influence of massive stars on their ambient interstellar medium for a 35 solar mass star that evolves from the main sequence through red supergiant and Wolf-Rayet phases,…
Observations show that at least some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) happen simultaneously with core-collapse supernovae (SNe), thus linking by a common thread nature's two grandest explosions. We review here the growing evidence for and…
Massive stars are at the core of our observations of the Universe up to the reionization epoch, both through their intense ionizing fluxes and through the energetic end products that release fresh elements into the interstellar medium. Our…
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 theory underlying the evolution and death of stars heavier than 10 Msun on the main sequence is reviewed with an emphasis upon stars much heavier than 30 Msun. These are stars that, in the absence of substantial mass loss, are expected…
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are believed to originate in compact remnants (black holes or neutron stars) of massive stars. Their high luminosities make them detectable out to the edge of the visible universe. We describe the many advantages of…
Massive evolved stars in transition phases, such as Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), B[e] Supergiants (B[e]SGs), and Yellow Hypergiants (YHGs), are not well understood, and yet crucial steps in determining accurate stellar and galactic…
Key physical ingredients governing the evolution of massive stars are mass losses, convection and mixing in radiative zones. These effects are important both in the frame of single and close binary evolution. The present paper addresses two…