Georges Meynet - Böcker

IAU Symposium 272 presents an overview of the latest research into active OB stars. These massive, volatile objects serve as test beds for extreme conditions, and research into them has entered a new era with the advent of new space and round-based instrumentation. In this volume, renowned experts discuss the cutting-edge observations, state-of-the-art modeling and recently developed techniques such as asteroseismology, interferometry and spectropolarimetry that have improved our understanding of these extreme objects. Asteroseismology allows us to infer the internal structure of massive stars and their rotation; high-resolution spectropolarimetry provides clues about magnetic fields and the confinement of their circumstellar environments; and interferometry probes the shape of these environments and investigates differential rotation. Written for researchers and graduate students, this volume will appeal to all those interested in extreme physical processes as tools to study structure evolution and mass loss of active OB stars.

Metal-rich stars accumulate their metals from previous generations of stars, and so contain the history of their galaxy. By studying these stars we can gain valuable insights into how metals change the formation and evolution of stars, and explain the extraordinary massive star populations observed in the metal-rich region of our own galaxy. Observations of metal-rich regions have shown that stars hosting giant planets are generally metal-rich, which has triggered further observations of metal-rich stars. This has led to the discovery of new exoplanets, and advances in the study of planet formation and the late chemical evolution of galaxies. This book covers many aspects, from spectral line formation to stellar formation and evolution in high metallicity regimes. It is invaluable to researchers and graduate students in stellar evolution, extragalactic astronomy, and planet formation.

Massive stars play a crucial role in the Universe: they are important drivers for the photometric and chemical evolution of galaxies; they are sources of important elements, including those necessary for life; and, with their strong winds and supernova explosions, they feed the interstellar medium with momentum and kinetic energy, impacting on the star formation rate. Knowledge of the evolution of massive stars is important not only for stellar physics, but also for probing the evolution of galaxies and their star formation histories throughout cosmic time. This volume provides an introduction to these topics and to the techniques used to investigate the properties of massive stars, including asteroseismology, spectropolarimetry, and interferometry. It highlights synergies between these new techniques and more classical methods, to create a synthetic view of massive stars, leading researchers towards new and innovative solutions to the most topical questions regarding the evolution of massive stars.

Metal-rich stars accumulate their metals from previous generations of stars, and so contain the history of their galaxy. By studying these stars we can gain valuable insights into how metals change the formation and evolution of stars, and explain the extraordinary massive star populations observed in the metal-rich region of our own galaxy. Observations of metal-rich regions have shown that stars hosting giant planets are generally metal-rich, which has triggered further observations of metal-rich stars. This has led to the discovery of new exoplanets, and advances in the study of planet formation and the late chemical evolution of galaxies. This book covers many aspects, from spectral line formation to stellar formation and evolution in high metallicity regimes. It is invaluable to researchers and graduate students in stellar evolution, extragalactic astronomy, and planet formation.

This volume examines the internal structure, origin and evolution of white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, all objects at the final stage of stellar evolution. It covers topics such as: pulsation of white dwarfs; millisecond pulsars; and the dynamics around black holes. This study is intended for those with a good knowledge of quantum and relatavistic physical processes and astrophysical observation. The book may be used as a companion to a course in stellar astrophysics.

Three eminent scientists, each well known for the clarity of their writing, present for students and researchers what is known about the internal structure, origin and evolution of White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes, all objects at the final stage of stellar evolution. They cover fascinating topics such as pulsation of white dwarfs, millisecond pulsars or the dynamics around black holes. The book is written for graduate students in astrophysics, but is also of interest to professional astronomers and physicists.

The review papers in this volume provide an in-depth examination of complex astrophysical phenomena of star formation via multi-wavelength observations and modeling. Among the fundamental issues discussed in the book are: The role of gravity and magnetized turbulence in the formation and evolution of molecular cloudsThe stellar feedback (supernovae, HII regions, winds, cosmic rays) in regulating star formation The origin of the stellar initial mass function and its universality across various environments Jets, magnetic fields and high energy particles in stellar clustersThe origin of the first stars and black holesThe goal of these papers is to review the major processes governing star formation and to investigate how they are interlinked. In doing so, they provide an in-depth look at the tremendous theoretical and observational progress that has been made in the recent past and also outline future perspectives.Previously published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Star Formation”