Related papers: An observational test of common-envelope evolution
This paper extends our previous study of planet/brown dwarf accretion by giant stars to solar mass stars located on the red giant branch. The model assumes that the planet is dissipated at the bottom of the convective envelope of the giant…
We describe a method for the determination of stellar [C/Fe] abundance ratios using low-resolution (R = 2000) stellar spectra from the SDSS and SEGUE. By means of a star-by-star comparison with a set of SDSS/SEGUE spectra with available…
We use the binary module of the MESA code to study the evolution of an evolved binary system where we assume that a main sequence companion removes the outskirts of the envelope of an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star by launching jets,…
The structure of stellar envelopes strongly influences the course and outcome of binary mass transfer, in particular of common envelope (CE) evolution. Convective envelopes can most easily be ejected during CE events, leading to…
We report on an abundance analysis for a pilot study of seven Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars, based on medium-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy. The optical spectra are used to estimate [Fe/H], [C/Fe], [N/Fe], and…
We calculate the stellar evolution of both white dwarfs (WDs) in AM CVn binaries with orbital periods of $P_{\mathrm{orb}} \approx 5-70$ minutes. We focus on the cases where the donor starts as a $M_{\mathrm{He}} < 0.2 \, M_{\odot}$ Helium…
A significant fraction of all metal-poor stars are carbon-rich. Most of these carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars also show enhancement in elements produced mainly by the s-process (CEMP-s stars) and evidence suggests that the origin of…
The presence of a close, low-mass companion is thought to play a substantial and perhaps necessary role in shaping post-Asymptotic Giant Branch and Planetary Nebula outflows. During post-main-sequence evolution, radial expansion of the…
This paper explores how the stochastic accretion of planetesimals onto white dwarfs would be manifested in observations of their atmospheric pollution. Archival observations of pollution levels for unbiased samples of DA and non-DA white…
We investigate the structural and asteroseismic consequences of mass accretion in massive stars within close binary systems. Using MESA, we model the evolution of the 10 M$_{\odot}$ accretor through and after a Roche lobe overflow phase. In…
The detailed composition of most metal-poor halo stars has been found to be very uniform. However, a fraction of 20-70% (increasing with decreasing metallicity) exhibit dramatic enhancements in their abundances of carbon - the so-called…
Most observations of polluted white dwarf atmospheres are consistent with accretion of water depleted planetary material. Among tens of known cases, merely two cases involve accretion of objects that contain a considerable mass fraction of…
Context: Understanding how protostars accrete their mass is a central question of star formation. One aspect of this is trying to understand whether the time evolution of accretion rates in deeply embedded objects is best characterised by a…
Many stars harbour multi-planet systems. As these stars expand late in their evolutions, the innermost planet may be engulfed, leading to a common envelope (CE) event. Even if this is insufficient to eject the envelope, it may expand the…
Close-binary central stars of planetary nebulae offer a unique tool with which to study the critical and yet poorly understood common-envelope phase of binary stellar evolution. Furthermore, as the nebula itself is thought to comprise the…
One of the largest uncertainties in stellar evolutionary computations is the accuracy of the considered reaction rates. The 12C(alpha,gamma)16O reaction is particularly important for the study of low- and intermediate-mass stars as it…
We calculate the evolution of cloud cores embedded in different envelopes to investigate environmental effects on the mass accretion rate onto protostars. As the initial state, we neglect the magnetic field and cloud rotation, and adopt…
We estimate the observed distribution of chirp masses of compact object binaries for the gravitational wave detectors. The stellar binary evolution is modeled using the {\em StarTrack} population synthesis code. The distribution of the…
Massive stars are usually found in binaries, and binaries with periods less than 10 days may have a preference for near equal component masses. In this paper we investigate the evolution of these binaries all the way to contact and the…
The orbital angular momentum of a close-orbiting giant planet can be sufficiently large that, if transferred to the envelope of the host star during the red giant branch (RGB) evolution, it can spin-up the star's rotation to unusually large…