Modelatmosferen van de Progenitor Stars tot Supernovae en Black Holes: Eindelijk in 3D! (SUPERSTARS-3D)

Stars with masses many times that of our Sun are the direct progenitors to cosmic phenomena such as supernova explosions, black holes, and gravitational wave (GW) sources.
Through electromagnetic observations we obtain empirical information of such massive stars, however decoding the radiation reaching us through our telescopes is a highly non-trivial exercise. To constrain fundamental properties like temperatures, radii, chemical abundances, and mass loss, the observed radiation is fit by means of model stellar atmospheres.
Observations and theory show that the radiation-dominated atmospheres of massive stars are highly complex, multi-dimensional systems. However, although 3D model atmospheres of sun-like stars have already been on the market for a while, for hot, massive stars we still rely solely on results derived from inadequate 1D simulations. This severely limits our knowledge of the basic physics of massive stars and our capacity to correctly interpret observations, thereby preventing progress also in the large number of astronomical fields (e.g. black hole and GW progenitor models) that rely on a firm understanding of the massive-star life-cycle. The time is now ripe to change this.
Building on the unique expertise of the PI and his team, in a groundbreaking effort we will here develop the very first 3D model atmospheres for hot, massive stars with winds. SUPERSTARS-3D will fundamentally improve our physical understanding of massive stars, and revolutionize analysis and interpretation of their observed radiation. By further confronting our pioneering simulations diretly to state-of-the-art observations, we will derive unprecedented constraints on evolution and end-of-life models.