The evolution of massive stars towards their death: rotation, binarity and mergers
Selma de Mink (STScI) - April 2, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Although they are rare and short-lived, massive stars play a major
role in Universe. With their large luminosities, strong stellar winds
and spectacular explosions they act as cosmic engines, heating and
enriching their surroundings, where the next generation of stars are
forming.
The latest stellar evolutionary models show that rotation can have
drastic effects, which has been suggested as a evolutionary path for
the progenitors of long gamma-ray bursts. I will discuss the recent
efforts of theorists and observers to understand the effects of
rotation including some highlights of the ongoing "VLT-FLAMES
Tarantula Survey of Massive Stars".
A further challenge arises from the preference of massive stars to
come in close pairs. Interaction with a companion leads to spectacular
phenomena such as runaways, X-ray binaries and stellar mergers. I will
present new results on the true close binary fraction for massive
stars, which imply that only a minority evolve undisturbed towards
their death.
The seminar will be held in B1 Hearst Field Annex.
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