About me

I am a Plaskett Fellow at NRC Herzberg in Victoria, Canada. Before that I was an Excellence Initiative fellow at Radboud University Nijmegen (NL) and a research fellow in astrophysics at the University of Surrey, near London (UK), where I have also been holding a postdoctoral fellowship grant from the FRQNT (Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies).

I completed my PhD in 2013 at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, where I worked on the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey under the guidance of Chris Evans. To conduct my PhD research, I was awarded a SUPA prize studentship and a Postgraduate Doctoral Scholarship from NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada).

I am from Montréal, Canada, where I completed my MSc in astrophysics at Université de Montréal and obtained my BSc in physics (first class honours) from McGill University.

Research

I am generally interested in the internal kinematics and dynamics of star clusters, both young and old, although in recent years my work has focused mainly on old globular clusters. I use a mix kinematic data, dynamical models, and statistical techniques to probe the formation and evolution of these systems as well as their stellar and black hole content. Through my earlier work on young massive clusters I have also maintained an interest in massive stars, massive binaries and runaway stars.

Mass modelling globular clusters

As part of the Gaia Challenge series of workshops, I co-led (with Mark Gieles) the working group on 'Collisional Systems'. Some our efforts have focused on testing the validity and applicability of dynamical models (in particular distribution function based models) by comparing them to mock data from collisional N-body simulations. (e.g. Sollima et al. 2015, Zocchi et al. 2016, Peuten et al. 2017, Hénault-Brunet et al. 2018).

With collaborators, I am now applying multimass distribution function based models to real data. These physically motivated models capture the trend towards equipartition of different mass species and the resulting mass segregation in systems that are dynamically evolved due to two-body relaxation. They are very useful to infer the mass distribution within clusters, their global (initial) mass function, their content of dark stellar remnants, and also to address claims for the presence of intermediate-mass black holes in the centre of globular clusters (e.g. Gieles et al. 2018, Zocchi et al. 2017, Zocchi et al. 2018). I also led the ISSI International Team and workshops on Globular Clusters in the Gaia Era to enable collaborations between globular cluster experts and facilitate the exploitation of Gaia data for globular cluster science.

Multiple populations in globular clusters

I am also interested in the problem of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters. The origin of chemically distinct populations of stars in these ancient systems is still mysterious and heavily debated.

My efforts have focused on exploring and highlighting the potential of stellar kinematics to probe the formation of multiple populations. In Hénault-Brunet et al. (2015), we performed N-body simulations and identified the differential rotation of subpopulations as a key signature to distinguish between the various formation scenarios proposed. I am now working on testing these predictions with a combination of archival data (e.g. Cordero, Hénault-Brunet et al. 2017), new spectroscopic observations, and Gaia data..

Kinematics of young massive clusters

During my PhD, I used multi-object and IFU spectroscopic observations to study the kinematics of massive stars in the well-known young massive clusters R136. This work howed that this cluster has a low velocity dispersion, suggesting that it is bound and has not significantly suffered from primordial gas expulsion (Hénault-Brunet et al. 2012b). We also found evidence for rotation of this oung cluster, suggesting that star clusters can form with a large fraction of their kinetic energy in rotation (Hénault-Brunet et al. 2012c). This dataset was also successfully used to improve methods to constrain the velocity dispersion of systems in which radial velocity measurements are polluted by the orbital motions of binary stars (Cottaar & Hénault-Brunet 2014).

Publications

-> My full publication list on the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) <-

  1. Mass modelling globular clusters in the Gaia era: a method comparison using mock data from an N-body simulation of M4
    Hénault- Brunet, V., Gieles, M., Sollima, A., Watkins, L. L., Zocchi, A., Claydon, I., Pancino, E., Baumgardt, H.
    2018, submitted to Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  2. Gaia and HST astrometry of the very massive ~150 Msun candidate runaway star VFTS682
    Renzo, M., de Mink, S. E., Lennon, D. J., Platais, I., van der Marel, R. P., Laplace, E., Bestenlehner, J. M., Evans, C. J., Hénault- Brunet, V., et al.
    2018, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  3. A-type stars in the Canada-France Imaging Survey I. The stellar halo of the Milky Way traced to large radius by blue horizontal branch stars
    Thomas, G.F., McConnachie, A.W., Ibata, R.A., Cote, P., Martin, N., Starkenburg, E. Carlberg, R., Chapman, S., Fabbro, S. Famaey, B., Fantin, N., Gwyn, S., Hénault- Brunet, V., et al.
    2018, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  4. The Unexpected Kinematics of Multiple Populations in NGC 6362: Do Binaries Play a Role?
    Dalessandro, E., Mucciarelli, A., Bellazzini, M., Sollima, A., Vesperini, E., Hong, J., Hénault- Brunet, V., Ferraro, F. R., Ibata, R., Lanzoni, B., Massari, D., Salaris, M.
    2018, The Astrophysical Journal
  5. The effect of stellar-mass black holes on the central kinematics of omega Cen: a cautionary tale for IMBH interpretations
    Zocchi, A., Gieles, M., Hénault- Brunet, V.
    2018, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  6. Concurrent formation of supermassive stars and globular clusters: implications for early self-enrichment
    Gieles, M., Charbonnel, C., Krause, M.G.H., Hénault- Brunet, V., Agertz, O. et al.
    2018, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  7. An excess of massive stars in the local 30 Doradus starburst
    Schneider et al. 2017, Science
  8. Mass models of NGC 6624 without an intermediate-mass black hole
    Gieles, M., Balbinot, E., Yaaqib, R., Hénault- Brunet, V., Zocchi, A. et al.
    2017, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  9. Differences in the rotational properties of multiple stellar populations in M13: a faster rotation for the `extreme' chemical subpopulation
    Cordero, M.J., Hénault-Brunet, V., et al.
    2017, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  10. Testing lowered isothermal models with direct N -body simulations of globular clusters - II: Multimass models
    Peuten, M., Zocchi, A., Gieles, M., Hénault-Brunet, V..
    2017, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  11. Radial anisotropy in omega Cen limiting the room for an intermediate-mass black hole
    Zocchi, A., Gieles, M., Hénault-Brunet, V..
    2017, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  12. The spectral variability of a sample of WC 9 stars on time-scales of days to weeks
    Desforges, S., St-Louis, N., Chené, A.-N., de la Chevrotière, A., Hénault-Brunet, V..
    2017, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  13. The Tarantula Massive Binary Monitoring. I. Observational campaign and OB-type spectroscopic binaries
    Almeida, L.A., Sana, H., Taylor, W. et al.
    2017, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  14. Testing lowered isothermal models with direct N-body simulations of globular clusters
    Zocchi, A., Gieles, M., Hénault-Brunet, V., Varri, A.L. /br> 2016, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  15. A stellar-mass black hole population in the globular cluster NGC 6101?
    Peuten, M., Zocchi, A., Gieles, M., Gualandris, A. Hénault-Brunet, V.,
    2016, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  16. No evidence for younger stellar generations within the intermediate age massive clusters NGC 1783, NGC 1696 and NGC 411
    Cabrera-Ziri et al.
    2016, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  17. Chemistry and Kinematics of Red Supergiant Stars in the Young Massive Cluster NGC 2100
    Patrick, L.R., Evans, C.J., Davies, B., Kudritzki, R.-P., Hénault-Brunet, V. et al.
    2016, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  18. Multiple populations in globular clusters: constraints from kinematics and dynamics
    Hénault-Brunet, V.
    2015, proceedings of IAUS 316
  19. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey XXI. Stellar spin rates of O-type spectroscopic binaries
    Ramírez-Agudelo, O.H., Sana, H., de Mink, S.E., Hénault-Brunet, V. et al.
    2015, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  20. Biases in the determination of dynamical parameters of star clusters: today and in the Gaia era
    Sollima, A., Baumgardt, H., Zocchi, A., Balbinot, E., Gieles, M. Hénault-Brunet, V., & Varri, A.L.
    2015, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  21. Multiple populations in globular clusters: the distinct kinematic imprints of different formation scenarios
    Hénault-Brunet, V., Gieles, M., Agertz, O., & Read, J.I.
    2015, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  22. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XIX. B-type supergiants: Atmospheric parameters and nitrogen abundances to investigate the role of binarity and the width of the main sequence
    McEvoy, C. M., Dufton, P. L., Evans, C. J., Kalari, V. M., Markova, N., Simón-Díaz, S., Vink, J. S., Walborn, N. R., Crowther, P. A., de Koter, A., de Mink, S. E., Dunstall, P. R., Hénault-Brunet, V. , Herrero, A., Langer, N., Lennon, D. J., Maíz Apellániz, J., Najarro, F., Puls, J., Sana, H., Schneider, F. R. N., & Taylor, W. D.
    2015, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  23. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XVIII. Classifications and radial velocities of the B-type stars
    Evans, C. J., Kennedy, M. B., Dufton, P. L., Howarth, I. D., Walborn, N. R., Markova, N., Clark, J. S., de Mink, S. E., de Koter, A., Dunstall, P. R., Hénault- Brunet, V. , Maíz Apellániz, J., McEvoy, C. M., Sana, H., Simón-Díaz, S., Taylor, W. D., & Vink, J. S.
    2015, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  24. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XVII. Physical and wind properties of massive stars at the top of the main sequence
    Bestenlehner, J. M., Gräfener, G., Vink, J. S., Najarro, F., de Koter, A., Sana, H., Evans, C. J., Crowther, P. A., Hénault-Brunet, V. , Herrero, A., Langer, N., Schneider, F. R. N., Simón- Díaz, S., Taylor, W. D., & Walborn, N. R.
    2014, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  25. Binary-corrected velocity dispersions from single- and multi-epoch radial velocities: massive stars in R136 as a test case
    Cottaar, M. & Hénault-Brunet, V.
    2014, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  26. Long-term evolution of the neutron-star spin period of SXP 1062
    Sturm, R., Haberl, F., Oskinova, L. M., Schurch, M. P. E., Hénault-Brunet, V., Gallagher, J. S., & Udalski, A.
    2013, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  27. Studying the kinematics of the giant star-forming region 30 Doradus . I. The data
    Torres-Flores, S., Barbá, R., Maíz Apellániz, J., Rubio, M., Bosch, G., Hénault-Brunet, V., & Evans, C. J.
    2013, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  28. Discovery of X-Ray Emission from Young Suns in the Small Magellanic Cloud
    Oskinova, L. M., Sun, W., Evans, C. J., Hénault-Brunet, V., Chu, Y.-H., Gallagher, J. S., III, Guerrero, M. A., Gruendl, R. A., Güdel, M., Silich, S., Chen, Y., Nazé, Y., Hainich, R., & Reyes-Iturbide, J.
    2013, The Astrophysical Journal
  29. >The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. IX. The interstellar medium seen through diffuse interstellar bands and neutral sodium
    van Loon, J. Th., Bailey, M., Tatton, B. L., Maíz Apellániz, J., Crowther, P. A., de Koter, A., Evans, C. J., Hénault-Brunet, V., Howarth, I. D., Richter, P., Sana, H., Simón-Díaz, S., Taylor, W., & Walborn, N. R.
    2013, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  30. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. VIII. Multiplicity properties of the O-type star population
    Sana, H., de Koter, A., de Mink, S. E., Dunstall, P. R., Evans, C. J., Hénault- Brunet, V. , Maíz Apellániz, J., Ramírez-Agudelo, O. H., Taylor, W. D., Walborn, N. R., Clark, J. S., Crowther, P. A., Herrero, A., Gieles, M., Langer, N., Lennon, D. J., & Vink, J. S.
    2013, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  31. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. VII. A low velocity dispersion for the young massive cluster R136
    Hénault-Brunet, V. , Evans, C. J., Sana, H., Gieles, M., Bastian, N., Maíz Apellániz, J., Markova, N., Taylor, W. D., Bressert, E., Crowther, P. A., & van Loon, J. Th.
    2012, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  32. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. VI. Evidence for rotation of the young massive cluster R136
    Hénault- Brunet, V., Gieles, M., Evans, C. J., Sana, H., Bastian, N., Maíz Apellániz, J., Taylor, W. D., Markova, N., Bressert, E., de Koter, A., & van Loon, J. Th
    2012, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  33. A Rare Early-type Star Revealed in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud
    Evans, C. J., Hainich, R., Oskinova, L. M., Gallagher, J. S., III, Chu, .-H., Gruendl, R. A., Hamann, W.-R., Hénault- Brunet, V., & Todt, H.
    2012, The Astrophysical Journal
  34. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. IV. Candidates for isolated high-mass star formation in 30 Doradus
    Bressert, E., Bastian, N., Evans, C. J., Sana, H., Hénault-Brunet, V., Goodwin, S. P., Parker, R. J., Gieles, M., Bestenlehner, J. M., Vink, J. S., Taylor, W. D., Crowther, P. A., Longmore, S. N., Gräfener, G., Maíz Apellániz, J., de Koter, A., Cantiello, M., & Kruijssen, J. M. D.
    2012, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  35. Discovery of a Be/X- ray pulsar binary and associated supernova remnant in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud
    Hénault-Brunet, V. , Oskinova, L. M., Guerrero, M. A., Sun, W., Chu, Y.-H., Evans, C. J., Gallagher, J. S., III, Gruendl, R. A., & Reyes-Iturbide, J.
    2012, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

    -> Chandra press release
    -> ESA press release
  36. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey: The Fastest Rotating O-type Star and Shortest Period LMC Pulsar—Remnants of a Supernova Disrupted Binary?
    Dufton, P. L., Dunstall, P. R., Evans, C. J., Brott, I., Cantiello, M., de Koter, A., de Mink, S. E., Fraser, M., Hénault-Brunet, V., Howarth, I. D., Langer, N., Lennon, D. J., Markova, N., Sana, H., & Taylor, W. D.
    2011, The Astrophysical Journal
  37. New Constraints on the Origin of the Short-term Cyclical Variability of the Wolf-Rayet Star WR 46
    Hénault- Brunet, V., St-Louis, N., Marchenko, S. V., Pollock, A. M. T., Carpano, S., & Talavera, A.
    2011, The Astrophysical Journal
  38. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. III. A very massive star in apparent isolation from the massive cluster R136
    Bestenlehner, J. M., Vink, J. S., Gräfener, G., Najarro, F., Evans, C. J., Bastian, N., Bonanos, A. Z., Bressert, E., Crowther, P. A., Doran, E., Friedrich, K., Hénault-Brunet, V. et al.
    2011, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  39. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. II. R139 revealed as a massive binary system
    Taylor, W. D., Evans, C. J., Sana, H., Walborn, N. R., de Mink, S. E., Stroud, V. E., Alvarez-Candal, A., Barbá, R. H., Bestenlehner, J. M., Bonanos, A. Z., Brott, I., Crowther, P. A., de Koter, A., Friedrich, K., Gräfener, G., Hénault-Brunet, V., et al.
    2011, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  40. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. I. Introduction and observational overview
    Evans, C. J., Taylor, W. D., Hénault-Brunet, V., Sana, H. et al.
    2011, Astronomy & Astrophysics
  41. A Massive Runaway Star from 30 Doradus
    Evans, C. J., Walborn, N. R., Crowther, P. A., Hénault-Brunet, V., Massa, D., Taylor, W. D., Howarth, I. D., Sana, H., Lennon, D. J., & van Loon, J. Th.
    2010, The Astrophysical Journal

Contact

Vincent Hénault-Brunet
vincent.henault-brunet [at] nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory
NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics
National Research Council Canada
5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC, V9E 2E7
Tel: +1 250 483 7992