Related papers: Eta Car and other LBVs
LBVs are massive evolved stars that suffer sporadic and violent mass-loss events. They have been proposed as the progenitors of some core-collapse SNe, but this idea is still debated due to the lack of direct evidence. Since SNRs can carry…
In a first paper, HIPPARCOS astrometric and kinematic data were used to calibrate both infrared K and IRAS luminosities at the same time as kinematic parameters of Long Period Variable stars (LPVs). Individual estimated absolute magnitudes…
P Cygni is a prototype for understanding mass loss from massive stars. This textbook star is known first of all because of two great eruptions in the 17th century. In the first half of this century it has given its name to a class of stars…
Eta Car is one of the most luminous and massive stars in our Galaxy and is the brightest mid-infrared (mid-IR) source in the sky, outside our solar system. Since the late 1990s the central source has dramatically brightened at ultraviolet…
Asymmetric variability in ultraviolet images of the Homunculus obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys/High Resolution Camera on the Hubble Space Telescope suggests that Eta Carinae is indeed a binary system. Images obtained before,…
I review multiwavelength observations of material seen around different types of evolved massive stars (i.e. red supergiants, yellow hypergiants, luminous blue variables, B[e] supergiants, and Wolf-Rayet stars), concentrating on diagnostics…
Three Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are located in and near the Quintuplet Cluster at the Galactic Center: the Pistol star, G0.120-0.048, and qF362. We present imaging at 19, 25, 31, and 37 {\mu}m of the region containing these three LBVs,…
The present article is written in the wake of a recently published study of the relation between the light curves of Long Period Variables and their evolution along the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB). It introduces a pair of new parameters…
The luminosities and periods of obscured AGB stars in the LMC are discussed using a combination of ISO and ground-based infrared photometry. The bolometric luminosities of these stars fall close to an extrapolation of the period-luminosity…
We search for LBV stars in galaxies outside the Local Group. Here we present a study of two bright $H\alpha$ sources in the NGC 247 galaxy. Object j004703.27-204708.4 ($M_V=-9.08 \pm 0.15^m$) shows the spectral lines typical for…
Evidence suggests that the direct progenitor stars of some core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are luminous blue variables (LBVs), perhaps including some `superluminous supernovae' (SLSNe). We examine models in which massive stars gain mass…
Luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are a growing class of enigmatic energetic transients. They show fast rises and declines, high temperatures throughout their evolution, and non-thermal emission in radio and X-rays. Their power…
In this Letter, we report the results of spectroscopic and photometric monitoring of the candidate luminous blue variable (LBV) WS1, which was discovered in 2011 through the detection of a mid-infrared circular shell and follow-up optical…
The advanced stages of several high-mass stars are characterized by episodic mass loss shed during phases of instability. Key for assigning these stars a proper evolutionary state is to assess the composition and geometry of their ejecta…
This paper discusses a model where a violent periastron collision of stars in an eccentric binary system induces an eruption or explosion seen as a brief transient source, attributed to LBVs, SN impostors, or other transients. The key…
Mapping lithium evolution for evolved stars will provide restrictions and constraints on the fundamental stellar interior physical processes, which further shed light on our understanding of the theory of stellar structure and evolution.…
Despite their paucity, massive hot stars are real cosmic engines of fundamental importance in shaping our Universe, from its very early stages up to its current appearance. Understanding the physics of massive stars is then a key issue for…
Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs) are compact, star-forming galaxies that are rarely observed in the local universe but abundant at z=1. This increase in LCBG number density over cosmic lookback time roughly follows the increase in the…
(abridged) Variability is a key property of stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Their pulsation period is related to the luminosity and mass-loss rate (MLR) of the star. Long-period variables (LPVs) and Mira variables are the most…
We have studied the spectral time variations of candidate luminous blue variable stars (cLBV) in two low-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxies, DDO 68 and PHL 293B. The LBV in DDO 68, located in HII region #3, shows an outburst, with an…