scholarly journals The excess of cool supergiants from contemporary stellar evolution models defies the metallicity-independent Humphreys-Davidson limit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avishai Gilkis ◽  
Tomer Shenar ◽  
Varsha Ramachandran ◽  
Adam S Jermyn ◽  
Laurent Mahy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Rotation Rates ◽  
Mixing Parameters ◽  
Synthetic Populations ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Effective Temperatures ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The Humphreys-Davidson (HD) limit empirically defines a region of high luminosities (log10(L/L⊙) ≳ 5.5) and low effective temperatures (Teff ≲ 20 kK) on the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram in which hardly any supergiant stars are observed. Attempts to explain this limit through instabilities arising in near- or super-Eddington winds have been largely unsuccessful. Using modern stellar evolution we aim to re-examine the HD limit, investigating the impact of enhanced mixing on massive stars. We construct grids of stellar evolution models appropriate for the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (SMC, LMC), as well as for the Galaxy, spanning various initial rotation rates and convective overshooting parameters. Significantly enhanced mixing apparently steers stellar evolution tracks away from the region of the HD limit. To quantify the excess of over-luminous stars in stellar evolution simulations we generate synthetic populations of massive stars, and make detailed comparisons with catalogues of cool (Teff ≤ 12.5 kK) and luminous (log10(L/L⊙) ≥ 4.7) stars in the SMC and LMC. We find that adjustments to the mixing parameters can lead to agreement between the observed and simulated red supergiant populations, but for hotter supergiants the simulations always over-predict the number of very luminous (log10(L/L⊙) ≥ 5.4) stars compared to observations. The excess of luminous supergiants decreases for enhanced mixing, possibly hinting at an important role mixing has in explaining the HD limit. Still, the HD limit remains unexplained for hotter supergiants.

scholarly journals Populations of OB-type stars in galaxies

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S272) ◽  
pp. 233-241
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Spectral Synthesis ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Young Star ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
External Galaxies

AbstractOne of the challenges for stellar astrophysics is to reach the point at which we can undertake reliable spectral synthesis of unresolved populations in young, star-forming galaxies at high redshift. Here I summarise recent studies of massive stars in the Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds, which span a range of metallicities commensurate with those in high-redshift systems, thus providing an excellent laboratory in which to study the role of environment on stellar evolution. I also give an overview of observations of luminous supergiants in external galaxies out to a remarkable 6.7 Mpc, in which we can exploit our understanding of stellar evolution to study the chemistry and dynamics of the host systems.

scholarly journals Stellar evolution models at the Magellanic Cloud metallicities

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S256) ◽  
pp. 337-342
Author(s):  
Raphael Hirschi ◽  
Sylvia Ekström ◽  
Cyril Georgy ◽  
Georges Meynet ◽  
André Maeder
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Observational Constraints ◽  
Surface Enrichment ◽  
First Stars ◽  
Effects Of Rotation ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe Magellanic Clouds are great laboratories to study the evolution of stars at two metallicities lower than solar. They provide excellent testbeds for stellar evolution theory and in particular for the impact of metallicity on stellar evolution. It is important to test stellar evolution models at metallicities lower than solar in order to use the models to predict the evolution and properties of the first stars. In these proceedings, after recalling the effects of metallicity, we present stellar evolution models including the effects of rotation at the Magellanic Clouds metallicities. We then compare the models to various observations (ratios of sub-groups of massive stars and supernovae, nitrogen surface enrichment and gamma-ray bursts) and show that the models including the effects of rotation reproduce most of the observational constraints.

scholarly journals The properties of early-type stars in the Magellanic Clouds

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S256) ◽  
pp. 325-336
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Mass Loss ◽  
Temperature Scale ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Early Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Stellar Temperature ◽  
Early Type Stars

AbstractThe past decade has witnessed impressive progress in our understanding of the physical properties of massive stars in the Magellanic Clouds, and how they compare to their cousins in the Galaxy. I summarise new results in this field, including evidence for reduced mass-loss rates and faster stellar rotational velocities in the Clouds, and their present-day compositions. I also discuss the stellar temperature scale, emphasizing its dependence on metallicity across the entire upper-part of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.

Coravel Radial-Velocity Curves for Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud

1984 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 375-380
Author(s):  
M. Imbert ◽  
J. Andersen ◽  
A. Ardeberg ◽  
C. Bardin ◽  
W. Benz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Independent Determination ◽  
Fundamental Information ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Cepheid Variables

Radii and luminosities for Cepheid variables provide fundamental information on stellar evolution. Such data, obtained by the Baade-Wesselink method, are available and have been used for a number of galactic Cepheids. It is of particular interest to obtain corresponding data for Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds. Firstly, this allows a comparative study of stellar evolution between the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. Secondly, it provides data for an independent determination of the distance to the Magellanic Clouds.Radial-velocity observations have been made for a total of around 20 Cepheid variables in both the LMC and the SMC. All measurements were made with the photoelectric scanner CORAVEL attached to the Cassegrain focus of the Danish 1.54-m telescope at European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile. Observations were made from January 1981 through October 1983. The accuracy of individual radial-velocity observations is of the order of 1 km s−1. The B magnitudes of the six Cepheids presented range from 13.0 to 15.5.

scholarly journals The Wolf–Rayet binaries of the nitrogen sequence in the Large Magellanic Cloud

2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. A151 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Shenar ◽  
D. P. Sablowski ◽  
R. Hainich ◽  
H. Todt ◽  
A. F. J. Moffat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Binary Interaction ◽  
Evolutionary Status ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Composite Spectra ◽  
The Impact

Context. Massive Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars dominate the radiative and mechanical energy budget of galaxies and probe a critical phase in the evolution of massive stars prior to core collapse. It is not known whether core He-burning WR stars (classical WR; cWR) form predominantly through wind stripping (w-WR) or binary stripping (b-WR). Whereas spectroscopy of WR binaries has so-far largely been avoided because of its complexity, our study focuses on the 44 WR binaries and binary candidates of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC; metallicity Z ≈ 0.5 Z⊙), which were identified on the basis of radial velocity variations, composite spectra, or high X-ray luminosities. Aims. Relying on a diverse spectroscopic database, we aim to derive the physical and orbital parameters of our targets, confronting evolution models of evolved massive stars at subsolar metallicity and constraining the impact of binary interaction in forming these stars. Methods. Spectroscopy was performed using the Potsdam Wolf–Rayet (PoWR) code and cross-correlation techniques. Disentanglement was performed using the code Spectangular or the shift-and-add algorithm. Evolutionary status was interpreted using the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) code, exploring binary interaction and chemically homogeneous evolution. Results. Among our sample, 28/44 objects show composite spectra and are analyzed as such. An additional five targets show periodically moving WR primaries but no detected companions (SB1); two (BAT99 99 and 112) are potential WR + compact-object candidates owing to their high X-ray luminosities. We cannot confirm the binary nature of the remaining 11 candidates. About two-thirds of the WN components in binaries are identified as cWR, and one-third as hydrogen-burning WR stars. We establish metallicity-dependent mass-loss recipes, which broadly agree with those recently derived for single WN stars, and in which so-called WN3/O3 stars are clear outliers. We estimate that 45  ±  30% of the cWR stars in our sample have interacted with a companion via mass transfer. However, only ≈12  ±  7% of the cWR stars in our sample naively appear to have formed purely owing to stripping via a companion (12% b-WR). Assuming that apparently single WR stars truly formed as single stars, this comprises ≈4% of the whole LMC WN population, which is about ten times less than expected. No obvious differences in the properties of single and binary WN stars, whose luminosities extend down to log L ≈ 5.2 [L⊙], are apparent. With the exception of a few systems (BAT99 19, 49, and 103), the equatorial rotational velocities of the OB-type companions are moderate (veq ≲ 250 km s−1) and challenge standard formalisms of angular-momentum accretion. For most objects, chemically homogeneous evolution can be rejected for the secondary, but not for the WR progenitor. Conclusions. No obvious dichotomy in the locations of apparently single and binary WN stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is apparent. According to commonly used stellar evolution models (BPASS, Geneva), most apparently single WN stars could not have formed as single stars, implying that they were stripped by an undetected companion. Otherwise, it must follow that pre-WR mass-loss/mixing (e.g., during the red supergiant phase) are strongly underestimated in standard stellar evolution models.

scholarly journals Young Massive Clusters

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S250) ◽  
pp. 247-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald F. Figer
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Stellar Clusters ◽  
Infrared Observations ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Massive Clusters

AbstractOver the past ten years, there has been a revolution in our understanding of massive young stellar clusters in the Galaxy. Initially, there were no known examples having masses >104, yet we now know that there are at least a half dozen such clusters in the Galaxy. In all but one case, the masses have been determined through infrared observations. Several had been identified as clusters long ago, but their massive natures were only recently determined. Presumably, we are just scratching the surface, and we might look forward to having statistically significant samples of coeval massive stars at all important stages of stellar evolution in the near future. I review the efforts that have led to this dramatic turn of events and the growing sample of young massive clusters in the Galaxy.

scholarly journals Massive Star Modeling and Nucleosynthesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Ekström
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Nuclear Reactions ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Star Evolution ◽  
Structural Impact ◽  
Massive Star Evolution ◽  
The Impact

After a brief introduction to stellar modeling, the main lines of massive star evolution are reviewed, with a focus on the nuclear reactions from which the star gets the needed energy to counterbalance its gravity. The different burning phases are described, as well as the structural impact they have on the star. Some general effects on stellar evolution of uncertainties in the reaction rates are presented, with more precise examples taken from the uncertainties of the 12C(α, γ)16O reaction and the sensitivity of the s-process on many rates. The changes in the evolution of massive stars brought by low or zero metallicity are reviewed. The impact of convection, rotation, mass loss, and binarity on massive star evolution is reviewed, with a focus on the effect they have on the global nucleosynthetic products of the stars.

scholarly journals The Impact of Realistic Red Supergiant Mass Loss on Stellar Evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Emma R. Beasor ◽  
Ben Davies ◽  
Nathan Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Core Collapse ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Cool Star ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Accurate mass-loss rates are essential for meaningful stellar evolutionary models. For massive single stars with initial masses between 8 and 30M ⊙the implementation of cool supergiant mass loss in stellar models strongly affects the resulting evolution, and the most commonly used prescription for these cool-star phases is that of de Jager. Recently, we published a new M ̇ prescription calibrated to RSGs with initial masses between 10 and 25 M ⊙, which unlike previous prescriptions does not overestimate M ̇ for the most massive stars. Here, we carry out a comparative study to the MESA-MIST models, in which we test the effect of altering mass loss by recomputing the evolution of stars with masses 12–27 M ⊙ with the new M ̇ -prescription implemented. We show that while the evolutionary tracks in the HR diagram of the stars do not change appreciably, the mass of the H-rich envelope at core collapse is drastically increased compared to models using the de Jager prescription. This increased envelope mass would have a strong impact on the Type II-P SN lightcurve, and would not allow stars under 30 M ⊙ to evolve back to the blue and explode as H-poor SN. We also predict that the amount of H-envelope around single stars at explosion should be correlated with initial mass, and we discuss the prospects of using this as a method of determining progenitor masses from supernova light curves.

scholarly journals The Brightest Stars in the Magellanic Clouds and Other Late-Type Galaxies

1984 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 145-156
Author(s):  
Roberta M. Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Stellar Winds ◽  
Stellar Content ◽  
Late Type ◽  
Observational Astronomy ◽  
Distant Galaxies

The brightest stars always receive considerable attention in observational astronomy, but why are we so interested in these most luminous, and therefore most massive stars? These stars are our first probes for exploring the stellar content of distant galaxies. Admittedly, they are only the tip of the iceberg for the whole stellar population and very interesting processes are occurring among the less massive, older stars, but the most massive stars are our first indicators for studies of stellar evolution in other galaxies. They provide the first hint that stellar evolution may have been different in a particular galaxy because they evolve so quickly. The most luminous stars also highly influence their environments via their strong stellar winds and mass loss and eventually as supernovae.

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