Massive stars in the field and associations of the magellanic clouds: The upper mass limit, the initial mass function, and a critical test of main-sequence stellar evolutionary theory

1995 ◽  
Vol 438 ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Massey ◽  
Cornelia C. Lang ◽  
Kathleen Degioia-Eastwood ◽  
Catharine D. Garmany
1996 ◽  
Vol 145 ◽  
pp. 157-164
Author(s):  
M. Hashimoto ◽  
K. Nomoto ◽  
T. Tsujimoto ◽  
F.-K. Thielemann

Presupernova evolution and explosive nucleosynthesis in massive stars for main-sequence masses from 13 Mʘ to 70 Mʘ are calculated. We examine the dependence of the supernova yields on the stellar mass, 12C(α, γ)16O rate, and explosion energy. The supernova yields integrated over the initial mass function are compared with the solar abundances.


1977 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 161-164
Author(s):  
W. David Arnett

Preliminary estimates are made of the absolute yields of abundant nuclei synthesized in observed stars. The compositions of helium stars of mass 3 ≤ Mα / Mʘ≤ 64 are presented, taken at the instant of instability. These stars of mass Mα are identified with stars of main sequence mass M. The amount of synthesized matter for each mass M ≥ MʘHe is estimated (Table 1). Using a variety of choices for the initial mass function (IMF) the yield per stellar generation is calculated. For standard choices of the IMF the absolute and relative yields of12C,16O,20Ne,24Mg, the Si to Ca group and the iron group agree with solar system values, to the accuracy of the calculations.


1986 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 413-414
Author(s):  
T. Gehren ◽  
D. Husfeld ◽  
R.P. Kudritzki ◽  
P.S. Conti ◽  
D.G. Hummer

The massive stars of the Magellanic Clouds are of considerable current interest with regard to questions of initial mass function, star formation mechanisms, stellar evolution with mass loss and the chemical evolution of galaxies. The effective temperatures, surface gravities and helium abundances of 6 main sequence O-type stars, obtained by fitting non-LTE model atmospheres to high quality spectra, are presented here; these are the first results from a long-term program to determine accurately the parameters and chemical abundances of massive stars in the Magellanic Clouds. The program stars were selected to be main sequence objects, according to the classification of Conti et al. (1985, in prep.), with He II λ 4686 Å in absorption, and to have minimal reddening and nebular emission. Spectra were obtained in 1984 December with the Cassegrain echelle spectrograph (CASPEC) and a CCD detector at the ESO 3.6 m telescope. A preliminary analysis of these spectra has been carried out by fitting the equivalent widths of He I λ 4471 Å and the profiles of Hγ and the Pickering lines (for details of the technique, see Kudritzki, 1980). The resulting values of effective temperature and gravity are given in Table I, along with the identification, spectral type and mv, of each star.


1981 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 293-296
Author(s):  
C. Chiosi ◽  
L. Greggio

The theoretical (Mb versus Log Te) HR diagram for the brightest galactic OB stars shows an upper boundary for the luminosity, which is characterized by a decreasing luminosity with decreasing effective temperature (Humphreys and Davidson, 1979). The existence of this limit was interpreted by Chiosi et al. (1978) as due to the effect of mass loss by stellar wind on the evolution of most massive stars in core H-burning phase. In fact, evolutionary models calculated at constant mass cover a wider and wider range in effective temperature as the initial mass increases during the main sequence phase. On the contrary, sufficiently high mass-loss rates make the evolutionary sequences of most massive stars (M 60⩾Mʘ) shrink toward the zero age main sequence whenever, due to mass loss, CNO processed material is brought to the surface (Chiosi et al., 1978; de Loore et al., 1978; Maeder, 1980).


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S272) ◽  
pp. 497-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
André-Nicolas Chené ◽  
Olivier Schnurr ◽  
Paul A. Crowther ◽  
Eduardo F. Lajus ◽  
Anthony F. J. Moffat

AbstractAs recent observations have shown, luminous, hydrogen-rich WN5-7h stars (and their somewhat less extreme cousins, O3f/WN6 stars) are the most massive main-sequence stars known. However, not nearly enough very massive stars have been reliably weighed to yield a clear picture of the upper initial-mass function (IMF). We therefore have carried out repeated high-quality spectroscopy of four new O3f/WN6 and WN5-7h binaries in R136 in the LMC with GMOS at Gemini-South, to derive Keplerian orbits for both components, respectively, and thus to directly determine their masses. We also monitored binary candidates and other, previously unsurveyed stars, to increase the number of very massive stars that can be directly weighed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S329) ◽  
pp. 279-286
Author(s):  
Jorick S. Vink ◽  
C.J. Evans ◽  
J. Bestenlehner ◽  
C. McEvoy ◽  
O. Ramírez-Agudelo ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present a number of notable results from the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS), an ESO Large Program during which we obtained multi-epoch medium-resolution optical spectroscopy of a very large sample of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This unprecedented data-set has enabled us to address some key questions regarding atmospheres and winds, as well as the evolution of (very) massive stars. Here we focus on O-type runaways, the width of the main sequence, and the mass-loss rates for (very) massive stars. We also provide indications for the presence of a top-heavy initial mass function (IMF) in 30 Dor.


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