The evolution of galaxies is governed mainly by the evolution of massive stars whereas the evolution of a massive star depends primarily on its mass, chemical composition and on whether or not the star is a Single object or a binary component. To study the evolution of galaxies, it is therefore essential to know how stellar masses are distributed at birth, how many stars are formed in binaries, and what the mass ratio and orbital period distribution of binaries look like. Massive stars are intrinsically the brightest stars, so that it may be possible to discover their properties in distant groups prOvided that large telescopes can be used for basic stellar observations. However, until now the observations of massive stars have been reasonably complete only for a small region of our own Galaxy (~ 3 kpc from the Sun). One hopes that the conclusions resulting from these observations hold for the whole Galaxy, for the whole cosmos. With 'The Brightest Stars' of De Jager (1980) in mind, the present monograph is an addendum and an update in which we discuss the observations of 'The Brightest Binaries' in the framework of stellar evolution. A small or intermediate mass star close to the Sun may look brighter than a massive one far away. However, within volume limited star samples, the massive stars are on average also the brightest ones. In the present monograph (similarly as in the work of De Jager), bright means massive. The book consists of four main chapters.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on X-Ray Binaries and the Formation of Binary and Millisecond Radio Pulsars, Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A., Januari 21-25, 1991

No part of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shows a more pronounced diversity of stellar types than the upper part, which contains the most luminous stars. Can one visualize a larger difference than between a luminous, young and extremely hot Of star, and a cool, evolved pulsating giant of the Mira type, or an S-type supergiant, or - again at the other side of the diagram - the compact nucleus of a planetary nebula? But there is order and unity in this apparent disorder! Virtually all types of bright stars are evolutionally related, in one way or the other. Evolution links bright stars. In many cases the evolution is speeded up by, or at least intimately related to various signs of stellar instability. Bright stars lose mass, either continuously or in dramatic sudden events, they vibrate or pulsate - and with these tenuous, gigantic objects this often happens in a most bizarre fashion. Sometimes the evolution goes so fast that fundamental changes are observable in the time span of a human's life - several of such cases have now been identified.

A graduate-level textbook on the astrophysics of binary star systems and their evolution Physics of Binary Star Evolution is an up-to-date textbook on the astrophysics and evolution of binary star systems. Theoretical astrophysicists Thomas Tauris and Edward van den Heuvel cover a wide range of phenomena and processes, including mass transfer and ejection, common envelopes, novae and supernovae, X-ray binaries, millisecond radio pulsars, and gravitational wave (GW) sources, and their links to stellar evolution. The authors walk through the observed properties and evolution of different types of binaries, with special emphasis on those containing compact objects (neutron stars, black holes, and white dwarfs). Attention is given to the formation mechanisms of GW sources—merging double neutron stars and black holes as well as ultra-compact GW binaries hosting white dwarfs—and to the progenitors of these sources and how they are observed with radio telescopes, X-ray satellites, and GW detectors (LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer, and LISA). Supported by illustrations, equations, and exercises, Physics of Binary Star Evolution combines theory and observations to guide readers through the wonders of a field that will play a central role in modern astrophysics for decades to come. 465 equations, 47 tables, and 350+ figures More than 80 exercises (analytical, numerical, and computational) Over 2,500 extensive, up-to-date references

Contents:Higher Dimensional Chern–Simons Theories and Topological Black Holes (M Bañados)Wormholes on the World Volume: Born–Infeld Particles and Dirichlet p-Branes (G W Gibbons)Evaporation of Primordial Black Holes (S W Hawking)Fermion Models and Chern–Simons Theories (F A Schaposnik)Uniqueness of D = 11 Supergravity (S Deser)Probing Black Holes and Relativistic Stars with Gravitational Waves (K S Thorne)Chern–Simons Supergravities with Off-Shell Local Superalgebras (R Troncoso & J Zanelli) Readership: Astrophysicists. Keywords:Black Holes;Universe;Astrophysics;Chern-Simons Theory;Wormholes

These proceedings celebrate the achievements of the great astronomer Zdenek Kopal, and reflect the state of the art of the dynamically evolving field of binary research, which owes so much to Kopal’s pioneering work.