Related papers: Wind anisotropies and GRB progenitors
Whenever stars are rotating very fast (Omega/Omega_crit > 0.7, with Omega_crit the Keplerian angular velocity of the star accounting for its deformation) radiative stellar winds are enhanced in polar regions. This theoretical prediction is…
Winds blown from accretion disks formed inside massive rotating stars may result in stellar explosions observable as Type Ibc and Type II supernovae. A key feature of the winds is their ability to produce the radioactive Nickel-56 necessary…
It is now recognized that long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are linked to the collapse of massive stars, based on the association between (low-redshift) GRBs and (type Ic) core-collapse supernovae (SNe). The census of massive stars and…
While there is mounting evidence that long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are associated with the collapse of massive stars, the detailed structure of their pre-supernova stage is still debatable. Particularly uncertain is the degree of mixing…
Massive protostars attain high luminosities as they are actively accreting and the radiation pressure exerted on the gas in the star's atmosphere may launch isotropic high-velocity winds. These winds will collide with the surrounding gas…
Recent stellar evolutionary calculations of low-metallicity massive fast-rotating main-sequence stars yield iron cores at collapse endowed with high angular momentum. It is thought that high angular momentum and black hole formation are…
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…
The association of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with Type Ib/c supernovae implies that they explode into the winds of their Wolf-Rayet progenitor stars. Although the evolution of some GRB afterglows is consistent with expansion into a free…
The physics of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their offsets from the centers of their host galaxies are used to investigate the evolutionary state of their progenitors, motivated by the popular idea that GRBs are linked with the cataclysmic…
Recent models of rotating massive stars including magnetic fields prove it difficult for the cores of single stars to retain enough angular momentum to produce a collapsar and gamma-ray burst. At low metallicity, even very massive stars may…
We study gravitational radiation from various proposed gamma-ray burst (GRB) progenitor models, in particular compact mergers and massive stellar collapses. These models have in common a high angular rotation rate, and the final stage…
We study the evolution of the circumstellar medium of massive stars. We pay particular attention to Wolf-Rayet stars that are thought to be the progenitors of some long Gamma-Ray Bursts. We detail the mass-loss rates we use in our stellar…
The final collapse of the cores of massive stars can lead to a wide variety of outcomes in terms of electromagnetic and kinetic energies, nucleosynthesis, and remnants. The connection of this wide spectrum of explosion and remnant types to…
Those massive stars that, during their deaths, give rise to gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) must be endowed with an unusually large amount of angular momentum in their inner regions, one to two orders of magnitude greater than the ones that make…
Long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are produced by ultra-relativistic jets launched from core collapse of massive stars. Most massive stars form in binaries and/or in star clusters, which means that there may be a significant external photon…
We present our numerical results of two-dimensional hydrodynamic (HD) simulations and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the collapse of rotating massive stars in light of the collapsar model of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Pushed by…
We study the evolution of stars that may be the progenitors of common (long-soft) GRBs. Bare rotating helium stars, presumed to have lost their envelopes due to winds or companions, are followed from central helium ignition to iron core…
Massive stars lose a large fraction of their original mass over the course of their evolution. These stellar winds shape the surrounding medium according to parameters that are the result of the characteristics of the stars, varying over…
The properties of a massive star prior to its final explosion are imprinted in the circumstellar medium (CSM) created by its wind and termination shock. We perform a detailed, comprehensive calculation of the time-variable and…
The rate of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) from isolated Pop III stars is not well known, as it depends on our poor understanding of their initial mass function (IMF), rotation rates, stellar evolution, and mass loss. Some massive…