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<p> The conditions ideally suited for blue straggler star formation are for the most part unknown, though there is mounting evidence to suggest that the preferred blue straggler formation pathway, whether it be via the coalescence of a primordial binary system or through the collision of two single main-sequence stars, depends largely on the cluster environment. In this thesis we are trying to isolate the preferred blue straggler formation mechanism(s) operating in various globular cluster environments by comparing relative blue straggler frequencies to global cluster properties.</p> <p> We define a series of selection rules to isolate the blue stragglers from main-sequence turn-off and extended horizontal branch stars in the colour-magnitude diagrams of 57 globular clusters taken from HST images of their central cores. The boundary conditions were defined using only the main-sequence turn-off as a point of reference, and are hence applied consistently from cluster to cluster. We chose to count only those stars found within one core radius of the cluster center in an effort to obtain a sample that is approximately representative of a uniform cluster environment where, ideally, a single blue straggler formation mechanism is predominantly operating. Relative frequencies of blue straggler stars are then found using the red giant branch for normalization and are subsequently analyzed. We confirm the anticorrelation between relative blue straggler frequency and total integrated cluster luminosity previously observed by Piotto et al. (2004), and find a new anticorrelation between relative blue straggler frequency and the central velocity dispersion, as well as a weak anticorrelation with the half-mass relaxation time. We find no other statistically significant trends. Observational implications pertaining to blue straggler formation mechanisms are then discussed.</p> <p> We present a very simple, semi-analytic model designed in an attempt to reproduce the observed trends in the core. Using estimates for the collisional timescales, we find that only a small percentage of the blue stragglers produced are a direct result of collisions. The majority of the blue stragglers created in our model are thus products of mass-transfer in tight, low-mass binary systems. We were surprised to find a reasonably good agreement between the data and our predictions, given the simplicity of our model. Our results suggest that the binary fraction could be a crucial parameter in shaping blue straggler populations, and hence better and more abundant observations of binary systems and their numbers could prove an important step in gaining a better understanding of blue straggler formation mechanisms.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

A l'instar de la sismologie terrestre, l'astérosismologie est l'étude des tremblements d'étoiles. Ces vibrations internes sont observées via les variations de luminosité (ou de vitesse) qui se manifestent à leurs surfaces. A partir de ces séries temporelles, on calcule les spectres de puissance qui contiennent une véritable mine d'informations. En particulier, pour les pulsateurs de types solaires, nous pouvons observer le signal de la granulation ainsi que les modes propres d'oscillations stellaires qui sont tous deux une conséquence directe de la convection dans l'enveloppe de l'étoile. L'astérosismologie permet de sonder l'intérieur des étoiles comme une échographie. Par ailleurs, avec les grands relevés de photométrie spatiale CoRoT et Kepler, un nouveau champ d'application pour la sismologie est apparu. En effet, il est possible de caractériser au premier ordre les spectres d'oscillations des pulsateurs de types solaires à partir de quelques indices que nous appellerons indices sismiques. Ces derniers permettent via des relations simples d'estimer les paramètres fondamentaux de ces étoiles. Cela fait de l'astérosismologie un outil très puissant pour l'étude des populations stellaires.Dans la perspective du développement de la base de données Stellar Seismic Indices (SSI - Ouverture de la base SSI prévue pour l'été 2016. Lien vers la base: http://ssi.lesia.obspm.fr/), l'objet de ma thèse a été de développer une méthode automatique capable d'extraire simultanément les indices sismiques et les paramètres caractérisant la granulation des pulsateurs de types solaires. Cette méthode, appelée MLEUP, a été pour l'instant optimisée pour les géantes rouges car CoRoT et Kepler ont observé plusieurs dizaines de milliers de géantes rouges contre quelques centaines de pulsateurs de type solaire de séquence principale. Le MLEUP présente un avantage majeur par rapport à la plupart des méthodes existantes : il utilise le patron universel d'oscillations (UP) des géantes rouges comme modèle d'ajustement du spectre d'oscillations, ce qui permet d'analyser le spectre non lissé, donc non dégradé, et d'ajuster simultanément la composante de granulation et celle des oscillations par l'estimation du maximum de vraisemblance (MLE). Le MLEUP a dans un premier temps été testé par des simulations Monte Carlo afin de quantifier ses performances. Ces dernières se sont révélées très bonnes, avec de faibles biais et dispersions. Dans un second temps, nous avons appliqué le MLEUP à plus de 36.500 étoiles observées par CoRoT et Kepler, parmi lesquelles nous obtenons les indices sismiques et les paramètres de la granulation pour plus de 13.500 étoiles. Ces résultats ont d'ores et déjà été utilisés dans plusieurs travaux et leur utilisation devrait s'intensifier rapidement. / Like terrestrial seismology, asteroseismology is the study of star quakes. These internal vibrations are detected by observing the luminosity (or velocity) variations at the stellar surfaces. From these time series, one computes power spectra which contain a wealth of information. In particular, for solar-like pulsators, we are able to observe the signal of granulation as well as the eigenmodes of stellar oscillations, both of which are a direct consequence of the convection in the star's envelope. Asteroseismology allows us to probe the interior of stars much like an ultrasound. Furthermore, with the large spatial photometric surveys CoRoT and Kepler, a new scope for seismology appeared. Indeed, it is possible to characterise to first order the oscillation spectra of solar-like pulsators with few indices or parameters, called seismic indices. Using simple relations, they allow us to estimate fundamental parameters of these stars. Asteroseismology is by consequence a very powerful tool for the study of stellar populations.In the perspective of the development of the Stellar Seismic Indices (SSI - The opening of the SSI database is planned for the summer of 2016, see http://ssi.lesia.obspm.fr/).) database, the purpose of my thesis was to develop an automatic method able to extract simultaneously the seismic indices and the parameters characterizing the granulation signature of solar-like pulsators. This method, called MLEUP, was optimized for red giants because for the few hundred main-sequence solar-like pulsators observed by CoRoT and Kepler, several tens of thousands of red giants have been observed by these same missions. MLEUP has a major advantage over most existing methods: it relies on the use red-giant stellar oscillation universal pattern (UP) to fit the oscillation spectra. This allows us to analyse the unsmoothed spectrum and fit simultaneously both granulation and oscillations with the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE).As a first step, MLEUP was tested on Monte Carlo simulations in order to quantify its performances. These simulations have revealed that MLEUP achieves very good performances, with low biases and dispersions. As a second step, we applied MLEUP to more than 36,500 stars observed by CoRoT and Kepler, thereby yielding seismic indices and granulation parameters for more than 13,500 stars. Those results have already been used in several works and are expected to be used in many more.

The search for extra-terrestrial life is guided by the classification of promising candidate worlds. In this classification the habitable zone acts as a measure for the perceived habitability of a circumstellar body. Habitable zone definitions vary between using a conservative and an optimistic limit. As the Sun progresses through stages of stellar evolution previously uninhabitable outer moons may receive sufficient heating for the existence of liquid water on their surface. To evaluate the possibility for life on these moons the time inside the habitable zone is calculated and compared to estimates for the time for life to develop on Earth. For these calculations the stellar evolution models of PARSEC and Dartmouth are employed. A class of moons is discovered whose time inside the habitable zone is longest during the horizontal branch evolutionary phase (fueled by helium burning in the core). Since the horizontal branch luminosity is near constant, this class is of particular interest due to being less dependent on a stabilizing climate mechanism to regulate atmospheric composition needed to counteract luminosity changes. Ultimately, it is found that regardless of moon, stellar evolution model, and habitable zone definition no post-main sequence time inside the habitable zone is as long as the time for life to arise on Earth. / <p>Research presentation</p>

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