Abstract
We present a general overview of the structure and evolution of massive stars of masses ≥12 M ⊙ during their pre-supernova stages. We think it is worth reviewing this topic owing to the crucial role of massive stars in astrophysics, especially in the evolution of galaxies and the universe. We have performed several test computations with the aim to analyze and discuss many physical uncertainties still encountered in massive-star evolution. In particular, we explore the effects of mass loss, convection, rotation, 12C(α,γ)16O reaction and initial metallicity. We also compare and analyze the similarities and differences among various works and ours. Finally, we present useful comments on the nucleosynthesis from massive stars concerning the s-process and the yields for 26Al and 60Fe.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D.R. Alexander, J.W. Ferguson, Low-temperature Rosseland opacities. Astrophys. J. 437, 879–891 (1994)
C. Angulo, M. Arnould, M. Rayet, P. Descouvemont, D. Baye, C. Leclercq-Willain, A. Coc, S. Barhoumi, P. Aguer, C. Rolfs, R. Kunz, J.W. Hammer, A. Mayer, T. Paradellis, S. Kossionides, C. Chronidou, K. Spyrou, S. degl’Innocenti, G. Fiorentini, B. Ricci, S. Zavatarelli, C. Providencia, H. Wolters, J. Soares, C. Grama, J. Rahighi, A. Shotter, M. Lamehi Rachti, A compilation of charged-particle induced thermonuclear reaction rates. Nucl. Phys. A 656, 3–183 (1999)
I. Baraffe, M.F. El Eid, Evolution of massive stars with variable initial compositions. Astron. Astrophys. 245, 548–560 (1991)
M. Brüggen, W. Hillebrandt, Mixing through shear instabilities. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 320, 73–82 (2001)
L. Buchmann, New stellar reaction rate for 12C(α,γ)16O. Astrophys. J. 468, L127–L130 (1996)
G.R. Caughlan, W.A. Fowler, M.J. Harris, B.A. Zimmerman, Tables of thermonuclear reaction rates for low-mass nuclei (Z≤14). At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 32, 197 (1985)
S. Chandrasekhar, The instability of a layer of fluid heated below and subject to the simultaneous action of a magnetic field and rotation. R. Soc. Lond. Proc. Ser. A 225, 173–184 (1954)
A. Chieffi, M. Limongi, O. Straniero, The evolution of a 25 M solar star from the main sequence up to the onset of the iron core collapse. Astrophys. J. 502, 737–762 (1998)
C. Chiosi, A. Maeder, The evolution of massive stars with mass loss. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 24, 329–375 (1986)
D.D. Clayton, Cosmic radioactivity—a gamma-ray search for the origins of atomic nuclei. Essays Nucl. Astrophys., pp. 401 (1982)
W. Daeppen, D. Mihalas, D.G. Hummer, B.W. Mihalas, The equation of state for stellar envelopes. III–Thermodynamic quantities. Astrophys. J. 332, 261–270 (1988)
C. de Jager, H. Nieuwenhuijzen, K.A. van der Hucht, Mass loss rates in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 72, 259–289 (1988)
L. Deng, D.R. Xiong, How to define the boundaries of a convective zone and how extended is overshooting? ArXiv e-prints 707 (2007)
M.F. El Eid, B.S. Meyer, L.-S. The, Evolution of massive stars up to the end of central oxygen burning. Astrophys. J. 611, 452–465 (2004)
A.S. Endal, S. Sofia, The evolution of rotating stars. II – Calculations with time-dependent redistribution of angular momentum for 7- and 10-solar-mass stars. Astrophys. J. 220, 279–290 (1978)
B. Freytag, H.-G. Ludwig, M. Steffen, Hydrodynamical models of stellar convection. The role of overshoot in DA white dwarfs, A-type stars, and the Sun. Astron. Astrophys. 313, 497–516 (1996)
G.M. Fuller, W.A. Fowler, M.J. Newman, Stellar weak interaction rates for intermediate mass nuclei. III – Rate tables for the free nucleons and nuclei with A=21 to A=60. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 48, 279–319 (1982)
S.A. Grossman, R. Narayan, A theory of nonlocal mixing-length convection. 2: Generalized smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 89, 361–394 (1993)
S.A. Grossman, R. Narayan, D. Arnett, A theory of nonlocal mixing-length convection. I – The moment form alism. Astrophys. J. 407, 284–315 (1993)
C.J. Hansen, S.D. Kawaler, Books-received – Stellar interiors – Physical principles structure and evolution. Science 265, 1902 (1994)
M.J. Harris, J. Knödlseder, P. Jean, E. Cisana, R. Diehl, G.G. Lichti, J.-P. Roques, S. Schanne, G. Weidenspointner, Detection of γ-ray lines from interstellar 60Fe by the high resolution spectrometer SPI. Astron. Astrophys. 433, L49–L52 (2005)
A. Heger, N. Langer, S.E. Woosley, Presupernova evolution of rotating massive stars. I. Numerical method and evolution of the internal stellar structure. Astrophys. J. 528, 368–396 (2000a)
A. Heger, S.E. Woosley, N. Langer, Stellar models including pre-SN/SN phases. New Astron. Rev. 44, 297–302 (2000b)
F. Herwig, The evolution of AGB stars with convective overshoot. Astron. Astrophys. 360, 952–968 (2000)
F. Herwig, T. Bloecker, D. Schoenberner, M. El Eid, Stellar evolution of low and intermediate-mass stars. IV. Hydrodynamically-based overshoot and nucleosynthesis in AGB stars. Astron. Astrophys. 324, L81–L84 (1997)
R. Hirschi, G. Meynet, A. Maeder, Stellar evolution with rotation. XII. Pre-supernova models. Astron. Astrophys. 425, 649–670 (2004)
R. Hirschi, G. Meynet, A. Maeder, Stellar evolution with rotation. XIII. Predicted GRB rates at various Z. Astron. Astrophys. 443, 581–591 (2005)
W.R. Hix, F.-K. Thielemann, Silicon Burning. I. Neutronization and the physics of quasi-equilibrium. Astrophys. J. 460, 869 (1996)
D.G. Hummer, D. Mihalas, The equation of state for stellar envelopes. I – An occupation probability formalism for the truncation of internal partition functions. Astrophys. J. 331, 794–814 (1988)
C.A. Iglesias, F.J. Rogers, Updated Opal Opacities. Astrophys. J. 464, 943 (1996)
N. Itoh, H. Hayashi, A. Nishikawa, Y. Kohyama, Neutrino energy loss in stellar interiors. VII. Pair, photo-, plasma, bremsstrahlung, and recombination neutrino processes. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 102, 411–424 (1996)
S. Kato, Overstable convection in a medium stratified in mean molecular weight. Publ. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 18, 374 (1966)
R. Kippenhahn, A. Weigert, Stellar Structure and Evolution (Springer, Berlin, 1990), 468 pp. Also Astronomy and Astrophysics Library
R.P. Kudritzki, A. Pauldrach, J. Puls, Radiation driven winds of hot luminous stars. II – Wind models for O-stars in the Magellanic Clouds. Astron. Astrophys. 173, 293–298 (1987)
R. Kunz, M. Fey, M. Jaeger, A. Mayer, J.W. Hammer, G. Staudt, S. Harissopulos, T. Paradellis, Astrophysical reaction rate of 12C(α,γ)16O. Astrophys. J. 567, 643–650 (2002)
K. Langanke, G. Martínez-Pinedo, Nuclear weak-interaction processes in stars. Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 819–862 (2003)
N. Langer, K.J. Fricke, D. Sugimoto, Semiconvective diffusion and energy transport. Astron. Astrophys. 126, 207–208 (1983)
N. Langer, M.F. El Eid, K.J. Fricke, Evolution of massive stars with semiconvective diffusion. Astron. Astrophys. 145, 179–191 (1985)
C. Leitherer, C. Robert, L. Drissen, Deposition of mass, momentum, and energy by massive stars into the interstellar medium. Astrophys. J. 401, 596–617 (1992)
M. Limongi, A. Chieffi, The nucleosynthesis of 26Al and 60Fe in solar metallicity stars extending in mass from 11 to 120: The hydrostatic and explosive contributions. Astrophys. J. 647, 483–500 (2006)
M. Limongi, O. Straniero, A. Chieffi, Massive stars in the range 13–25 M solar : Evolution and nucleosynthesis. II. The solar metallicity models. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 129, 625–664 (2000)
A. Maeder, On the Richardson criterion for shear instabilities in rotating stars. Astron. Astrophys. 299, 84 (1995)
A. Maeder, P.S. Conti, Massive star populations in nearby galaxies. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 32, 227–275 (1994)
A. Maeder, G. Meynet, The evolution of rotating stars. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 38, 143–190 (2000)
A. Maeder, J.-P. Zahn, Stellar evolution with rotation. III. Meridional circulation with MU-gradients and non-stationarity. Astron. Astrophys. 334, 1000–1006 (1998)
C.A. Meakin, D. Arnett, Turbulent convection in stellar interiors. I. Hydrodynamic simulation. ArXiv Astrophysics e-prints (2006)
B.S. Meyer, The r-, s-, and p-processes in nucleosynthesis. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 32, 153–190 (1994)
B.S. Meyer, L.-S. The, D.D. Clayton, M.F. El Eid, Helium-shell nucleosynthesis and extinct radioactivities, in Lunar and Planetary Institute Conference Abstracts (2004), p. 1908
G. Meynet, A. Maeder, Stellar evolution with rotation. V. Changes in all the outputs of massive star models. Astron. Astrophys. 361, 101–120 (2000)
G. Meynet, S. Ekström, A. Maeder, The early star generations: the dominant effect of rotation on the CNO yields. Astron. Astrophys. 447, 623–639 (2006)
D. Mihalas, W. Dappen, D.G. Hummer, The equation of state for stellar envelopes. II – Algorithm and selected results. Astrophys. J. 331, 815–825 (1988)
H. Nieuwenhuijzen, C. de Jager, Parametrization of stellar rates of mass loss as functions of the fundamental stellar parameters M, L, and R. Astron. Astrophys. 231, 134–136 (1990)
A.A. Pamyatnykh, W.A. Dziembowski, P. Moskalik, M.J. Seaton, OP versus OPAL opacities: consequences for B star oscillations, in Pulsation Rotation and Mass Loss in Early-Type Stars, ed. by L.A. Balona, H.F. Henrichs, J.M. Le. IAU Symposium, vol. 162 (1994), p. 70
C.M. Raiteri, R. Gallino, M. Busso, D. Neuberger, F. Kaeppeler, The weak s-component and nucleosynthesis in massive stars. Astrophys. J. 419, 207–223 (1993)
T. Rauscher, F. Thielemann, Astrophysical reaction rates from statistical model calculations. At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 75, 1–351 (2000)
T. Rauscher, A. Heger, R.D. Hoffman, S.E. Woosley, Nucleosynthesis in massive stars with improved nuclear and stellar physics. Astrophys. J. 576, 323–348 (2002)
F.J. Rogers, C.A. Iglesias, Radiative atomic Rosseland mean opacity tables. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 79, 507–568 (1992)
F.J. Rogers, C.A. Iglesias, Astrophysical opacity. Science 263, 50–55 (1994)
F.J. Rogers, C.A. Iglesias, Opacity of stellar matter. Space Sci. Rev. 85, 61–70 (1998)
F.J. Rogers, A. Nayfonov, Updated and expanded OPAL equation-of-state tables: Implications f or helioseismology. Astrophys. J. 576, 1064–1074 (2002)
C.E. Rolfs, W.S. Rodney, Cauldrons in the Cosmos: Nuclear astrophysics. Research supported by NSF, Georgetown University, DFG, et al. Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press, 1988, 579 p.
G. Schaller, D. Schaerer, G. Meynet, A. Maeder, New grids of stellar models from 0.8 to 120 solar masses at Z=0.020 and Z=0.001. Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 96, 269–331 (1992)
M.J. Seaton, Y. Yan, D. Mihalas, A.K. Pradhan, Opacities for stellar envelopes. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 266, 805 (1994)
H.C. Spruit, The rate of mixing in semiconvective zones. Astron. Astrophys. 253, 131–138 (1992)
R.B. Stothers, C.-W. Chin, Evolution of massive stars into luminous blue variables and Wolf-Rayet stars for a range of metallicities: Theory versus observation. Astrophys. J. 468, 842 (1996)
R.B. Stothers, C.-W. Chin, Yellow hypergiants as dynamically unstable post-red supergiant stars. Astrophys. J. 560, 934–936 (2001)
K. Takahashi, K. Yokoi, Beta-decay rates of highly ionized heavy atoms in stellar interiors. At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 36, 375 (1987)
L.-S. The, M.F. El Eid, B.S. Meyer, s-process nucleosynthesis in advanced burning phases of massive stars. Astrophys. J. 655, 1058–1078 (2007)
F. Thielemann, K. Nomoto, M. Hashimoto, Core-collapse supernovae and their ejecta. Astrophys. J. 460, 408–436 (1996)
F.X. Timmes, D. Arnett, The accuracy, consistency, and speed of five equations of state for stellar hydrodynamics. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 125, 277–294 (1999)
F.X. Timmes, F.D. Swesty, The accuracy, consistency, and speed of an electron-positron equation of state based on table interpolation of the Helmholtz free energy. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 126, 501–516 (2000)
J. Tuli, Nuclear Wallet Cards (Brookhaven Natl. Lab., Brookhaven, 1995)
D. Vanbeveren, C. De Loore, W. Van Rensbergen, Massive stars. Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 9, 63–152 (1998)
J.S. Vink, A. de Koter, H.J.G.L.M. Lamers, New theoretical mass-loss rates of O and B stars. Astron. Astrophys. 362, 295–309 (2000)
J.S. Vink, A. de Koter, H.J.G.L.M. Lamers, Mass-loss predictions for O and B stars as a function of metallicity. Astron. Astrophys. 369, 574–588 (2001)
S.E. Woosley, T.A. Weaver, Presupernova models: Sensitivity to convective algorithm and Coulomb corrections. Phys. Rep. 163, 79–94 (1988)
S.E. Woosley, T.A. Weaver, The evolution and explosion of massive stars. II. Explosive hydrodynamics and nucleosynthesis. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 101, 181–235 (1995)
S.E. Woosley, A. Heger, T.A. Weaver, The evolution and explosion of massive stars. Rev. Mod. Phys. 74, 1015–1071 (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
El Eid, M.F., The, LS. & Meyer, B.S. Massive Stars: Input Physics and Stellar Models. Space Sci Rev 147, 1–29 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-009-9517-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-009-9517-6