Tracing the Chemistry of Massive Stars Before They Shine: A Tour Through High-Mass Star-Forming Regions
High-mass stars form in dense, distant, and fast-evolving environments that produce distinct chemical signatures. The chemistry progresses from simple, highly deuterated molecules in cold starless cores to rich complex organic molecules in warmer protostellar objects, then becomes dominated by ultraviolet-driven processes in H II regions. Upcoming ALMA and JWST observations are expected to clarify this chemical evolution and its implications for star and planet formation.
Tricky Triplets: How Simulations Reveal New Paths for Massive Triple Stars
Sciarini et al. show that detailed stellar models like mesa predict very different outcomes for massive triple star systems compared to faster, simplified models like seba. These differences, especially in stellar size and mass loss, can dramatically alter whether stars interact, merge, or destabilize—affecting predictions for events like gravitational wave sources.
How Giant Stars at Low Metallicity Shape the Chemistry of the Early Universe
Higgins et al. explore how very massive stars at low metallicity contribute to the unusual chemical patterns seen in globular clusters. Using stellar evolution models, they show that stellar winds from these stars can eject sodium-rich, oxygen-poor material. This supports the idea that VMS winds, not just supernovae, played a key role in early Universe chemical enrichment.