Massive stars and supernovae – with Thomas Haworth

What are massive stars and supernovae, and why are they so rare? And why have they had such a huge effect on the evolution of the universe?

When stars are born, hundreds of thousands can form in one cluster. Amongst these are massive stars which, though rare and short-lived, have far-reaching effects on the evolution of the entire galaxy.

Clusters of stars are formed when gravity causes giant clouds of dusty gas to collapse, giving us some of the most stunning images in astronomy. However, alongside the creation there is destruction. Massive stars, around 40 times larger than the sun, emit vast amounts of energy which heats and blows away the star-forming gas.

In this talk, Thomas Haworth shares the latest understandings of how the energy from massive stars is impacting the clusters and galaxies around them. From the destruction of planet-forming discs surrounding young stars to energy surges as the massive stars explode in supernovae, the lives of massive stars have far-reaching consequences for their surroundings.

This talk was recorded at the Ri on 11 April 2023.

00:00 Intro
1:03 What is a ‘massive’ star?
7:12 How are massive stars formed?
12:35 How bright are massive stars?
17:18 Electrons and atoms (demos)
22:41 Star formulation simulation (demos)
25:17 What about supernovae?
29:57 The effect of massive stars on galaxies
34:50 Explosive demo!
38:53 How quickly are galaxies making stars?
40:35 Why are planets so diverse?
46:52 How do we study planets? (demos)
55:02 Recent research on planets

Thomas Haworth is a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow and Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. His approach to research uses both computer simulations and observations with state of the art facilities. He connects the two using synthetic observations. His main interests are the connection between planet formation and star forming environment, but has enjoyed working on a wide range of other topics including star formation/stellar feedback, planet formation, cloud-cloud collisions, AGB star winds and globulettes.

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[Tacit_Tern]

Just the distraction I needed at work, at the moment.

[dotanwolf]

i love how a cloud of gas compresses on itself, raising the temperature and breaking the laws of thermodynamics. what a star...

[photon]

I learned a ton. Some of the best explanations I've heard and superb use of visual aids like the balloons, ladders, and heat. 🎈 I hope to hear more from Thomas Haworth.

[andycordy]

Wow! So much food for thought.

I had imagined that the accretion disks would be infinitely variable in terms of mass and content, so that competitive accretion takes place in star forming regions in the bir 1:01:44 th of different stars and also in the birth of new solar systems. So, around a small star it is possible that several large planets form and around a larger star with little matter left over from forming the star remaining available to make planets.

I love this idea of quiet, gassy or dusty regions shielding star forming regions from destructive UV radiation and therefore being fertile areas where young stars are more likely to form more substantial planets.

Really wonderful work. Thank you

I really liked the powerpoint animations which made the phenomenon of cloud shielding really direct.

[spellkowski]

this was supergood -- felt like I learned so much
ofc was already aware of the variety of star sizes, etc, but had no idea of their dynamic impact on the surrounding environment

[MRe]

Enjoyed his lecture, he was at the Queen mary open day event that was online. He presented the msc astrophysics programme, the degree programme I'm looking to get into after my maths degree finishes. 👍

[exoyt]

Excellent speaker, nice talk, well done (:

Gerard 't Hooft for actually trying to make a start for exact models.

[WasimAkram]

Thank you for lecture, I learned alot also the demos were very helpful. I really enjoyed the presenter Thomas Haworth.

[clairecsmith]

The Royal Institution is a wonderful place - I went to see an astronomy presentation there in November 2008 & astronomer Patrick Moore was in the audience. Regards Claire. I've just had to edit my comment as I realised I put the wrong yr - I think I'd attended the presentation in November 2009.

[nirmell]

Amazing content and presentation, thank you so much

[ClassicRiki]

12:12 I think the comment made by the member of the audience that he started with a sphere, which is not how the simulation should have been generated; pretty sure that the presenter genuinely messed that up. That’s an extremely fundamental character which will have a massive (pun intended) effect because of the emergent properties which a seed in a simulation will create

[nrmike]

Less than two minutes in, and he keeps mentioning degrees Kelvin. As an absolute scale, Kelvin is not expressed in degrees, that designation is for reference temperature scales.

[bremensname]

good show, great job demonstration team

[matiassebastianzarricuetap]

Hi, great presentation! Very user-friendly to understand the underlying physics in these interesting stars.

I would like to use the image from 03:30 on an informative video that we are doing at my university to explain the scarcity of massive stars, but I'm wondering to whom the image credits should go, whether to Thomas Haworth, The Royal Institution, or some other entity.

Great work and thank you again for sharing the knowledge!

[nimbusnation]

I really really enjoy your presentation

[whirledpeas]

Smooth voice. Makes this a good one to go to sleep with.

[robbie_]

Very interesting talk. Thanks for sharing.

[Will_Smith_Slapping_Xi_Jinping]

You know what?

I learned something today.

[gregster]

What's the software used for the accretion simulation?

[alexsuited]

In an EMFS all particles that can hold a charge will do so. So I think when certain fields interact with those charged particles stars will form. But I believe there is a point of no return for stars forming.