We systematically examine how the presence in a binary affects the final core structure of a massive star and its consequences for the subsequent supernova explosion. Interactions with a companion star may change the final rate of rotation, the size of the helium core, the strength of carbon burning and the final iron core mass. Stars with initial masses larger than ∼ 11 M ⊙ that experience core collapse will generally have smaller iron cores at the point of explosion if they lost their envelopes due to a binary interaction during or soon after core hydrogen burning. Stars below ∼ 11M ⊙ , on the other hand, can end up with larger helium and metal cores if they have a close companion, since the second dredge-up phase which reduces the helium core mass dramatically in single stars does not occur once the hydrogen envelope is lost. We find that the initially more massive stars in binary systems with masses in the range 8 − 11M ⊙ are likely to undergo an electron-capture supernova, while single stars in the same mass range would end as ONeMg white dwarfs. We suggest that the core collapse in an electron-capture supernova (and possibly in the case of relatively small iron cores) leads to a prompt or fast explosion rather than a very slow, delayed neutrino-driven explosion and that this naturally produces neutron stars with low-velocity kicks. This leads to a dichotomous distribution of neutron star kicks, as inferred previously, where neutron stars in relatively close binaries attain low kick velocities. We illustrate the consequences of such a dichotomous kick scenario using binary population synthesis simulations and discuss its implications. This scenario has also important consequences for the minimum initial mass of a massive star that becomes a neutron star. For single stars the critical mass may be as high as 10 -12 M ⊙ , while for close binaries, it may be as low as 6 -8 M ⊙ . These critical masses depend on the treatment of convection, the amount of convective overshooting and the metallicity of the star and will generally be lower for larger amounts of convective overshooting and lower metallicity.

We study the late evolution of solar metallicity stars in the transition region between white dwarf formation and core collapse. This includes the superYasymptotic giant branch (super-AGB, SAGB) stars, which ignite carbon burning and form an oxygen-neon (ONe) core. SAGB star cores may grow to the Chandrasekhar mass because of continued H-and He-shell burning, ending as core-collapse supernovae. From stellar evolution models we find that the initial mass range for SAGB evolution is 7:5Y9:25 M . We perform calculations with three different stellar evolution codes to judge the robustness of our results. The mass range significantly depends on the treatment of semiconvective mixing and convective overshooting. To consider the effect of a large number of thermal pulses, as expected in SAGB stars, we construct synthetic SAGB models that are calibrated through stellar evolution simulations. The synthetic model enables us to compute the evolution of the main properties of SAGB stars from the onset of thermal pulses until the core reaches the Chandrasekhar mass or is uncovered by the stellar wind. Thereby, we differentiate the stellar initial mass ranges that produce ONe WDs from that leading to electron-capture SNe. The latter is found to be 9:0 Y9:25 M for our fiducial model, implying that electron-capture SNe would constitute about 4% of all SNe in the local universe. The error in this determination due to uncertainties in the third dredge-up efficiency and AGB massloss rate could lead to about a doubling of the number of electron-capture SNe, which provides a firm upper limit to their contribution to all supernovae of $20%.

Context. The prediction of the spins of the compact remnants is a fundamental goal of the theory of stellar evolution. Aims. Here, we confront the predictions for white dwarf spins from evolutionary models, including rotation with observational constraints. Methods. We perform stellar evolution calculations for stars in the mass range 1. . . 3 M , including the physics of rotation, from the zero age main sequence into the TP-AGB stage. We calculate two sets of model sequences, with and without inclusion of magnetic fields. From the final computed models of each sequence, we deduce the angular momenta and rotational velocities of the emerging white dwarfs.Results. While models including magnetic torques predict white dwarf rotational velocities between 2 and 10 km s −1 , those from the nonmagnetic sequences are found to be one to two orders of magnitude larger, well above empirical upper limits. Conclusions. We find the situation analogous to that in the neutron star progenitor mass range, and conclude that magnetic torques may be required to understand the slow rotation of compact stellar remnants in general.

We present the first detailed study of the Electron Capture Supernova Channel (ECSN Channel) for a primary star in a close binary star system. Progenitors of ECSN occupy the lower end of the mass spectrum of supernovae progenitors and are thought to form the transition between white dwarfs progenitors and core collapse progenitors . The mass range for ECSN from close binary systems is thought to be wider than the range for single stars, because of the effects of mass transfer on the helium core. Using the MESA stellar evolution code we explored the parameter space of initial primary masses between 8 M and 17 M , using a large grid of models . We find that the initial primary mass and the mass transfer evolution are important factors in the final fate of stars in this mass range. Mass transfer due to Roche Lobe overflow during and after carbon burning causes the core to cool down so that it avoids neon ignition, even in helium-free cores with masses up to 1.52 M , which in single stars would ignite neon. If the core is able to contract to high enough densities for electron captures to commence, we find that, for the adopted Ledoux convection criterion, the initial mass range for the primary to evolve into an ECSN is between 13.5 M and 17.6 M . The mass ratio, initial period, and mass loss efficiency only marginally affect the predicted ranges.

Thermohaline mixing has recently been proposed to occur in low mass red giants, with large consequence for the chemical yields of low mass stars. We investigate the role of thermohaline mixing during the evolution of stars between 1 M ⊙ and 3 M ⊙ , in comparison to other mixing processes acting in these stars. We use a stellar evolution code which includes rotational mixing and internal magnetic fields. We confirm that thermohaline mixing has the potential to destroy most of the 3 He which is produced earlier on the main sequence during the red giant stage, in stars below 1.5 M ⊙ . We find this process to continue during core helium burning and beyond. We find rotational and magnetic mixing to be negligible compared to the thermohaline mixing in the relevant layers, even if the interaction of thermohaline motions with the differential rotation may be essential to establish the time scale of thermohaline mixing in red giants.

The ExoClock project has been created to increase the efficiency of the Ariel mission. It will achieve this by continuously monitoring and updating the ephemerides of Ariel candidates, in order to produce a consistent catalog of reliable and precise ephemerides. This work presents a homogenous catalog of updated ephemerides for 450 planets, generated by the integration of ∼18,000 data points from multiple sources. These sources include observations from ground-based telescopes (the ExoClock network and the Exoplanet Transit Database), midtime values from the literature, and light curves from space telescopes (Kepler, K2, and TESS). With all the above, we manage to collect observations for half of the postdiscovery years (median), with data that have a median uncertainty less than 1 minute. In comparison with the literature, the ephemerides generated by the project are more precise and less biased. More than 40% of the initial literature ephemerides had to be updated to reach the goals of the project, as they were either of low precision or drifting. Moreover, the integrated approach of the project enables both the monitoring of the majority of the Ariel candidates (95%), and also the identification of missing data. These results highlight the need for continuous monitoring to increase the observing coverage of the candidate planets. Finally, the extended observing coverage of planets allows us to detect trends (transit-timing variations) for a sample of 19 planets. All the products, data, and codes used in this work are open and accessible to the wider scientific community.

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