Related papers: A Supergiants
Objects of known brightness, like Type Ia supernovae (SNIa), can be used to measure distances. If a massive object warps spacetime to form multiple images of a background SNIa, a direct test of cosmic expansion is also possible. However,…
We describe several projects addressing the growth of galaxies and massive black holes, for which adaptive optics is mandatory to reach high spatial resolution but is also a challenge due to the lack of guide stars and long integrations. In…
The interpretation of observations over different wavelength domains, which now exist over a large fraction of the sky, will be used to determine relationships between a nebula and its' illuminating source. The illuminating source of a high…
Star clusters are fundamental units of stellar feedback and unique tracers of their host galactic properties. In this review, we will first focus on their constituents, i.e.\ detailed insight into their stellar populations and their…
The Local Group (LG) dwarf galaxies offer a unique window to the detailed properties of the most common type of galaxy in the Universe. In this review, I update the census of LG dwarfs based on the most recent distance and radial velocity…
The centres of galaxies are powerful laboratories to test the current $\Lambda$CDM model for structure formation and evolution. While these sub-galactic scales can be directly investigated in the local Universe, it is observationally…
Many of the properties of massive stars in external galaxies, such as chemical compositions, mass functions, and ionizing fluxes, can be derived from the study of the associated clouds of ionized gas. Moreover, the signatures of Wolf-Rayet…
We present new HST I-band images of a sample of 77 nearby, late-type spiral galaxies with low inclination. The main purpose of this catalog is to study the frequency and properties of nuclear star clusters. In 59 galaxies of our sample, we…
Most violent and energetic processes in our universe, including mergers of compact objects, explosions of massive stars and extreme accretion events, produce copious amounts of X-rays. X-ray follow-up is an efficient tool for identifying…
Nearby dwarf galaxies are local analogues of high-redshift and metal-poor stellar populations. Most of these systems ceased star formation long ago, but they retain signatures of their past that can be unraveled by detailed study of their…
Spectral evolution models are a widely used tool for determining the stellar content of galaxies. I provide a review of the latest developments in stellar atmosphere and evolution models, with an emphasis on massive stars. In contrast to…
We present preliminary results of a follow-up survey which aims to characterise in detail those galaxies which hosted Type Ia supernovae found by the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP). Our survey has two components: Hubble Space Telescope…
We consider some aspects of the evolution of massive stars which can only be elucidated by means of "indirect" observations, i.e. measurements of the effects of massive stars on their environments. We discuss in detail the early evolution…
This paper shows a technique for searching for bright massive stars in galaxies beyond the Local Group. To search for massive stars, we used the results of stellar photometry of the Hubble Space Telescope images using the DAOPHOT and…
Microlensing of stars in strongly lensed galaxies can lead to temporary extreme magnification factors ($\mu\!>\!1000$), enabling their detection at high redshifts. Following the discovery of Icarus, several stars at cosmological distances…
A full understanding of the origin of the hard X-ray background requires a complete and accurate census of the distant galaxies that produce it. Unfortunately, distant X-ray galaxies tend to be very faint at all wavelengths, which hinders…
We summarize here recent work in identifying and characterizing red supergiants (RSGs) in the galaxies of the Local Group.
Results from gravitational microlensing suggested the existence of a large population of free-floating planetary mass objects. The main conclusion from this work was partly based on constraints from a direct imaging survey. This survey…
X-ray observations of bright AGNs in or behind galaxy clusters offer unique capabilities to constrain axion-like particles (ALPs). Existing analysis technique rely on measurements of the global goodness-of-fit. We develop a new analysis…
A small fraction of red giants are known to be lithium (Li) rich, in contradiction with expectations from stellar evolutionary theory. A possible explanation for these atypical giants is the engulfment of a Li-rich planet or brown dwarf by…