Abstract
Understanding the evolution of massive binaries is essential for understanding many observed classes of stellar systems, ranging from Algols to X-ray binaries, recycled pulsars, double-neutron-star systems and quite possibly gamma-ray burst sources. Here recent progress and some of the main remaining uncertainties are being reviewed, particularly emphasizing stellar mergers and their possible implications for supernovae like SN 1987A, Thorne–Żytkow objects and η Car-like eruptions. It is shown how binary evolution can affect both the envelope and the core structure of a massive star, explaining – at least in part – the observed diversity of core-collapse supernovae and potentially producing different kick distributions for systems in binaries. Various ideas linking gamma-ray bursts to massive binaries are also being discussed.
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