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Massive single star evolution: A comparison with observations

  • Structure and Evolution of Massive Stars
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Abstract

We firstly examine the critical model assumptions for massive stars, in particular regarding mixing, mass loss and metallicity. The comparisons of models and observations for main sequence stars reveal some interesting problems, such as the lack of O-stars close to the zero-age sequence, the so-called helium and mass discrepancies. We emphasize that this last discrepancy was probably due to the unsafe atmosphere modelling used by spectroscopists. The comparisons for supergiants enlighten a number of most interesting problems: the He and CNO abundances in blue supergiants, the distribution of supergiants in the HR diagram and above all the variations of the blue to red number ratios with metallicity. Then, we examine the properties and chemistry of WR stars and the observations and interpretations concerning the great changes of WR numbers in galaxies of different metallicites. Finally, we emphasize the main WR filiations.

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  1. Geneva Observatory, CH-1290, Sauverny, Switzerland

    A. Maeder

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Maeder, A. Massive single star evolution: A comparison with observations. Space Sci Rev 66, 349–363 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00771084

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