Warm Spitzer Occultation Photometry of WASP-26b at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m (2013)
Journal Article
Mahtani, D. P., Mahtani, D. P., Maxted, P. F. L., Anderson, D. R., Smith, A. M. S., Smalley, B., …West, R. G. (2013). Warm Spitzer Occultation Photometry of WASP-26b at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 432(1), 693-701. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt505

We present new warm Spitzer occultation photometry of WASP-26 at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m along with new transit photometry taken in the g,r and i bands. We report the first detection of the occultation of WASP-26b, with occultation depths at 3.6{\mu}... Read More about Warm Spitzer Occultation Photometry of WASP-26b at 3.6{\mu}m and 4.5{\mu}m.

WASP-8b: characterization of a cool and eccentric exoplanet with Spitzer (2013)
Journal Article
(2013). WASP-8b: characterization of a cool and eccentric exoplanet with Spitzer. Astrophysical Journal, https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/768/1/42

WASP-8b has 2.18 times Jupiter's mass and is on an eccentric ($e=0.31$) 8.16-day orbit. With a time-averaged equilibrium temperature of 948 K, it is one of the least-irradiated hot Jupiters observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We have analyzed... Read More about WASP-8b: characterization of a cool and eccentric exoplanet with Spitzer.

On the relationship between the size and surface coverage of starspots on magnetically active low-mass stars (2013)
Journal Article
Jackson, R. J., & Jeffries, R. D. (2013). On the relationship between the size and surface coverage of starspots on magnetically active low-mass stars. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 431(2), 1883-1890. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt304

We present a model that predicts the light curve amplitude distribution for an ensemble of low-mass magnetically active stars, under the assumptions that stellar spin axes are randomly orientated and that cool starspots have a characteristic scale le... Read More about On the relationship between the size and surface coverage of starspots on magnetically active low-mass stars.

A rapidly spinning supermassive black hole at the centre of NGC?1365. (2013)
Journal Article
(2013). A rapidly spinning supermassive black hole at the centre of NGC?1365. Nature, 449 - 451. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11938

Broad X-ray emission lines from neutral and partially ionized iron observed in active galaxies have been interpreted as fluorescence produced by the reflection of hard X-rays off the inner edge of an accretion disk. In this model, line broadening and... Read More about A rapidly spinning supermassive black hole at the centre of NGC?1365..

Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 mu m full-orbit light curves of WASP-18 (2012)
Journal Article
Maxted, P., Anderson, D. R., Doyle, A. P., Gillon, M., Harrington, J., Iro, N., …Southworth, J. (2013). Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 mu m full-orbit light curves of WASP-18. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 428(3), 2645-2660. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sts231

We present new lightcurves of the massive hot Jupiter system WASP-18 obtained with the Spitzer spacecraft covering the entire orbit at 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron. These lightcurves are used to measure the amplitude, shape and phase of the thermal phas... Read More about Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 mu m full-orbit light curves of WASP-18.

Very massive stars and the Eddington Limit (2012)
Journal Article
(2012). Very massive stars and the Eddington Limit

We use contemporary evolutionary models for Very Massive Stars (VMS) to assess whether the Eddington limit constrains the upper stellar mass limit. We also consider the interplay between mass and age for the wind properties and spectral morphology of... Read More about Very massive stars and the Eddington Limit.

EChO - Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (2012)
Journal Article
Tinetti, G., Beaulieu, J., Henning, T., Meyer, M., Micela, G., Ribas, I., …Yurchenko, S. (2012). EChO - Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory. Experimental Astronomy, 34, 311-353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-012-9303-4

A dedicated mission to investigate exoplanetary atmospheres represents a major milestone in our quest to understand our place in the universe by placing our Solar System in context and by addressing the suitability of planets for the presence of life... Read More about EChO - Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory.

HSTEP -- Homogeneous Studies of Transiting Extrasolar Planets (2012)
Conference Proceeding
Southworth, J. (2012). HSTEP -- Homogeneous Studies of Transiting Extrasolar Planets. . https://doi.org/10.1017/S174392131301332X

I give a summary of the HSTEP project: an effort to calculate the physical properties of the known transiting extrasolar planets using a homogeneous approach. I discuss the motivation for the project, list the 83 planets which have already been studi... Read More about HSTEP -- Homogeneous Studies of Transiting Extrasolar Planets.

Grids of stellar models with rotation - I. Models from 0.8 to 120 Msun at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014) (2012)
Journal Article
(2012). Grids of stellar models with rotation - I. Models from 0.8 to 120 Msun at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014). Astronomy & Astrophysics, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117751

[abridged] Many topical astrophysical research areas, such as the properties of planet host stars, the nature of the progenitors of different types of supernovae and gamma ray bursts, and the evolution of galaxies, require complete and homogeneous se... Read More about Grids of stellar models with rotation - I. Models from 0.8 to 120 Msun at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014).

The helium abundance in the ejecta of U Scorpii (2012)
Journal Article
(2012). The helium abundance in the ejecta of U Scorpii. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 3414 -3415. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19803.x

U Scorpii (U Sco) is a recurrent nova which has been observed in outburst on 10 occasions, most recently in 2010. We present near-infrared (near-IR) and optical spectroscopy of the 2010 outburst of U Sco. The reddening of U Sco is found to be E(B - V... Read More about The helium abundance in the ejecta of U Scorpii.

Eclipsing Binary Stars: the Royal Road to Stellar Astrophysics (2012)
Conference Proceeding
Taylor. (2012). Eclipsing Binary Stars: the Royal Road to Stellar Astrophysics. In Proceedings of the workshop "Orbital Couples: Pas de Deux in the Solar System and the Milky Way" (51-58)

Russell (1948) famously described eclipses as the "royal road" to stellar astrophysics. From photometric and spectroscopic observations it is possible to measure the masses and radii (to 1% or better!), and thus surface gravities and mean densities,... Read More about Eclipsing Binary Stars: the Royal Road to Stellar Astrophysics.

Homogeneous studies of transiting planets (2011)
Conference Proceeding
Southworth, J. (2011). Homogeneous studies of transiting planets. . https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921311027177

The derived physical properties of the known transiting extrasolar planetary systems come from a variety of sources, and are calculated using a range of different methods so are not always directly comparable. I present a catalogue of the physical pr... Read More about Homogeneous studies of transiting planets.

Debris discs in the 27 Myr old open cluster IC4665 (2011)
Journal Article
(2011). Debris discs in the 27 Myr old open cluster IC4665. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2186-2198. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17835.x

We present Spitzer IRAC and MIPS 24um imaging of members of the 27+/-5Myr old open cluster IC 4665. Models for the assembly of terrestrial planets through planetesimal collisions and mergers predict episodic dust debris discs at this epoch. We determ... Read More about Debris discs in the 27 Myr old open cluster IC4665.

Red Supergiants, Luminous Blue Variables and Wolf-Rayet stars: the single massive star perspective (2011)
Journal Article
Meynet, G., Georgy, C., Hirschi, R., Maeder, A., Massey, P., Przybilla, N., & Nieva, M. (2011). Red Supergiants, Luminous Blue Variables and Wolf-Rayet stars: the single massive star perspective. Bulletin de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liège, 80, 266-278

We discuss, in the context of the single star scenario, the nature of the progenitors of Red Supergiants (RSG), of Luminous Blue Variables (LBV) and of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. These three different populations correspond to evolved phases of Main Sequ... Read More about Red Supergiants, Luminous Blue Variables and Wolf-Rayet stars: the single massive star perspective.

The R136 star cluster hosts several stars whose individual masses greatly exceed the accepted 150 Msun stellar mass limit (2010)
Journal Article
Hirschi. (2010). The R136 star cluster hosts several stars whose individual masses greatly exceed the accepted 150 Msun stellar mass limit. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 731 -751. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17167.x

Spectroscopic analyses of H-rich WN5-6 stars within the young star clusters NGC 3603 and R136 are presented, using archival HST & VLT spectroscopy, & high spatial resolution near-IR photometry. We derive high T* for the WN stars in NGC 3603 (T*~42+/-... Read More about The R136 star cluster hosts several stars whose individual masses greatly exceed the accepted 150 Msun stellar mass limit.

Origin of CEMP stars: What helium and lithium can tell us about CEMP stars? (2010)
Journal Article
Meynet, G., Hirschi, R., Ekstrom, S., Maeder, A., Georgy, C., Eggenberger, P., & Chiappini, C. (2010). Origin of CEMP stars: What helium and lithium can tell us about CEMP stars?. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 268, 141-146. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921310003984

We show that the peculiar surface abundance patterns of Carbon Enhanced Metal Poor (CEMP) stars has been inherited from material having been processed by H- and He-burning phases in a previous generation of stars (hereafter called the ``Source Stars'... Read More about Origin of CEMP stars: What helium and lithium can tell us about CEMP stars?.

The low-mass Initial Mass Function in the young cluster NGC 6611 (2009)
Journal Article
Jeffries, M. Oliveira, J., D. Jeffries, R., & Th. van Loon, J. (2009). The low-mass Initial Mass Function in the young cluster NGC 6611. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1034-1050. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14140.x

NGC 6611 is the massive young cluster (2-3 Myr) that ionises the Eagle Nebula. We present very deep photometric observations of the central region of NGC 6611 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and the following filters: ACS/WFC F775W and F850L... Read More about The low-mass Initial Mass Function in the young cluster NGC 6611.

Massive Stars as Cosmic Engines through the Ages (2008)
Journal Article
Hirschi, R. (2008). Massive Stars as Cosmic Engines through the Ages. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921308020292

Some useful developments in the model physics are briefly presented, followed by model results on chemical enrichments and WR stars. We discuss the expected rotation velocities of WR stars. We emphasize that the (C+O)/He ratio is a better chemical in... Read More about Massive Stars as Cosmic Engines through the Ages.

NuGrid: s process in massive stars (2008)
Journal Article
Frischknecht, U., Thielemann, F., -K. Thielemann, F., Pignatari, M., Bennett, M., Diehl, S., …Hirschi, R. NuGrid: s process in massive stars. Manuscript submitted for publication

The s-process production in massive stars at very low metallicities is expected to be negligible due to the low abundance of the neutron source 22Ne, to primary neutron poisons and decreasing iron seed abundances. However, recent models of massive st... Read More about NuGrid: s process in massive stars.

Nucleosynthesis simulations for a wide range of nuclear production sites from NuGrid (2008)
Journal Article
Herwig, F., Fryer, C., Hirschi, R., Bennett, M., L. Fryer, C., Diehl, S., …Young, P. Nucleosynthesis simulations for a wide range of nuclear production sites from NuGrid. Manuscript submitted for publication

Simulations of nucleosynthesis in astrophysical environments are at the intersection of nuclear physics reaction rate research and astrophysical applications, for example in the area of galactic chemical evolution or near-field cosmology. Unfortunate... Read More about Nucleosynthesis simulations for a wide range of nuclear production sites from NuGrid.