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Massive stars are predominantly found in binaries and higher order multiples. While the period and eccentricity distributions of OB stars are now well established across different metallicity regimes, the determination of mass-ratios has been mostly limited to double-lined spectroscopic binaries. As a consequence, the mass-ratio distribution remains subject to significant uncertainties. Open questions include the shape and extent of the companion mass-function towards its low-mass end and the nature of undetected companions in single-lined spectroscopic binaries. In this contribution, we present the results of a large and systematic analysis of a sample of over 80 single-lined O-type spectroscopic binaries (SB1s) in the Milky Way and in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We report on the developed methodology, the constraints obtained on the nature of SB1 companions, the distribution of O star mass-ratios at LMC metallicity and the occurrence of quiescent OB+black hole binaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminous Blue Variable stars (LBVs) are rare and enigmatic. Often cited as evolutionary stages in the single-star evolution, the idea that binary evolution produces the LBV state was already considered, 30 years ago. It is now commonly accepted that a significant part of massive stars are born in multiple systems. One aspect that also emerged is that massive stars have on average at least two companions, i.e. they are triples. This immediately implies that a number of LBVs should have evolved as part of multiple systems. While some LBVs are confirmed as binaries, different methods were used to derive their multiplicity, with different results. We report on a systematic search for multiplicity using spectroscopy, interferometry in a sample of 20 LBVs. Spectroscopy provides us with a bias-corrected binary fraction of $\[62_{ - 24}^{ + 38}\]$ %, and a percentage of 50–70% is found from interferometry. This has a high impact on the way that these objects might be formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since massive stars form preferentially as members of close binary systems, we use dense grids of detailed binary evolution models to explore how binary evolution shapes the main-sequence morphology of young star clusters. We propose that binary mergers might be the origin of the blue main sequence stars in young star clusters. Our results imply that stars may either form by accretion, or through a binary merger, and that both paths lead to distinctly different spins, magnetic fields, and stellar mass distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of multiples has seen some significant progress over the past years mainly due to the advent and the expansion of high-angular resolution facilities. Star-forming regions are the laboratories where massive stars can be caught right after their formation phase. Still, the observational constraints and the properties of young multiple systems are poorly documented. These proceedings contain recent results about the multiplicity properties of six young O-type stars in the M17 star-forming region, observed by the means of near-IR interferometric observations, which have provided insight into the origin of massive close binaries in a cluster environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core of the cluster R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud hosts the most massive stars known. The high mass-loss rates of these stars strongly impact their surroundings, as well as the evolution of the stars themselves. To quantify this impact accurate mass-loss rates are needed, however, uncertainty about the degree of inhomogeneity of the winds ('wind clumping'), makes mass-loss measurements uncertain. We combine optical and ultraviolet HST/STIS spectroscopy of 56 stars in the core of R136 in order to put constraints on the wind structure, improving the accuracy of the mass-loss rate measurements. We find that the winds are highly clumped, and use our measured mass-loss rates to test theoretical predictions. Furthermore we find, for the first time, tentative trends in the wind-structure parameters as a function of mass-loss rate, suggesting that the winds of stars with higher mass-loss rates are less clumped than those with lower mass-loss rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, HR 6819 was reported to be a triple system containing the closest black hole to Earth. However, these results were contested, with an alternative explanation of a post-interaction binary suggested. Using new integral field spectroscopic and interferometric data, we have been able to determine the true nature of this exotic source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a magnitude-limited spectroscopic survey of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars with the HERMES spectrograph mounted on the Mercator telescope. Using cross-correlation to measure radial velocities, we measured the observed binary fractions of the Galactic carbon- (WC) and nitrogen-rich (WN) Wolf-Rayet stars to be and. We used Monte-Carlo simulations with a Bayesian framework to derive the intrinsic multiplicity properties and found and. We find that the majority of WN binaries reside in short-period systems, similar to O stars. However, the orbital period distribution of the Galactic WC population peaks at 5000 d, a discrepancy that challenges our current understanding of binary evolution in Wolf-Rayet stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most stars with birth masses larger than that of our Sun belong to binary or higher order multiple systems. Similarly, most stars have stellar winds. Radiation pressure and multiplicity create outflows of material that remove mass from the primary star and inject it into the interstellar medium or transfer it to a companion. Both have strong impact on the subsequent evolution of the stars, yet they are often studied separately. In this short review, I will sketch part of the landscape of the interplay between stellar winds and binarity. I will present several examples where binarity shapes the stellar outflows, providing new opportunities to understand and measure mass loss properties. Stellar winds spectral signatures often help clearly identifying key stages of stellar evolution. The multiplicity properties of these stages then shed a new light onto evolutionary connections between the different categories of evolved stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Especially in the upper Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, where stellar physics is least understood, obtaining model independent masses is of great value. Spectroscopic binaries that are also resolved astrometrically are an excellent alternative to eclipsing double-lined spectroscopic binaries where dynamical masses can be measured. 9 Sgr is such a massive binary. However, its characterization is troubled by conflicting conclusions from the spectroscopic analysis on the one hand and the interferometric one on the other hand. In this work, we attempt to resolve this tension by applying a novel approach to spectral disentangling of the spectroscopic data to constrain better the mass of 9 Sgr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive stars are predominantly found in binaries and higher order multiples. While the period and eccentricity distributions of OB stars are now well established across different metallicity regimes, the determination of mass-ratios has been mostly limited to double-lined spectroscopic binaries. As a consequence, the mass-ratio distribution remains subject to significant uncertainties. Open questions include the shape and extent of the companion mass-function towards its low-mass end and the nature of undetected companions in single-lined spectroscopic binaries. In this contribution, we present the results of a large and systematic analysis of a sample of over 80 single-lined O-type spectroscopic binaries (SB1s) in the Milky Way and in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We report on the developed methodology, the constraints obtained on the nature of SB1 companions, the distribution of O star mass-ratios at LMC metallicity and the occurrence of quiescent OB+black hole binaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminous Blue Variable stars (LBVs) are rare and enigmatic. Often cited as evolutionary stages in the single-star evolution, the idea that binary evolution produces the LBV state was already considered, 30 years ago. It is now commonly accepted that a significant part of massive stars are born in multiple systems. One aspect that also emerged is that massive stars have on average at least two companions, i.e. they are triples. This immediately implies that a number of LBVs should have evolved as part of multiple systems. While some LBVs are confirmed as binaries, different methods were used to derive their multiplicity, with different results. We report on a systematic search for multiplicity using spectroscopy, interferometry in a sample of 20 LBVs. Spectroscopy provides us with a bias-corrected binary fraction of $\[62_{ - 24}^{ + 38}\]$ %, and a percentage of 50–70% is found from interferometry. This has a high impact on the way that these objects might be formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since massive stars form preferentially as members of close binary systems, we use dense grids of detailed binary evolution models to explore how binary evolution shapes the main-sequence morphology of young star clusters. We propose that binary mergers might be the origin of the blue main sequence stars in young star clusters. Our results imply that stars may either form by accretion, or through a binary merger, and that both paths lead to distinctly different spins, magnetic fields, and stellar mass distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of multiples has seen some significant progress over the past years mainly due to the advent and the expansion of high-angular resolution facilities. Star-forming regions are the laboratories where massive stars can be caught right after their formation phase. Still, the observational constraints and the properties of young multiple systems are poorly documented. These proceedings contain recent results about the multiplicity properties of six young O-type stars in the M17 star-forming region, observed by the means of near-IR interferometric observations, which have provided insight into the origin of massive close binaries in a cluster environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core of the cluster R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud hosts the most massive stars known. The high mass-loss rates of these stars strongly impact their surroundings, as well as the evolution of the stars themselves. To quantify this impact accurate mass-loss rates are needed, however, uncertainty about the degree of inhomogeneity of the winds ('wind clumping'), makes mass-loss measurements uncertain. We combine optical and ultraviolet HST/STIS spectroscopy of 56 stars in the core of R136 in order to put constraints on the wind structure, improving the accuracy of the mass-loss rate measurements. We find that the winds are highly clumped, and use our measured mass-loss rates to test theoretical predictions. Furthermore we find, for the first time, tentative trends in the wind-structure parameters as a function of mass-loss rate, suggesting that the winds of stars with higher mass-loss rates are less clumped than those with lower mass-loss rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, HR 6819 was reported to be a triple system containing the closest black hole to Earth. However, these results were contested, with an alternative explanation of a post-interaction binary suggested. Using new integral field spectroscopic and interferometric data, we have been able to determine the true nature of this exotic source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a magnitude-limited spectroscopic survey of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars with the HERMES spectrograph mounted on the Mercator telescope. Using cross-correlation to measure radial velocities, we measured the observed binary fractions of the Galactic carbon- (WC) and nitrogen-rich (WN) Wolf-Rayet stars to be and. We used Monte-Carlo simulations with a Bayesian framework to derive the intrinsic multiplicity properties and found and. We find that the majority of WN binaries reside in short-period systems, similar to O stars. However, the orbital period distribution of the Galactic WC population peaks at 5000 d, a discrepancy that challenges our current understanding of binary evolution in Wolf-Rayet stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Especially in the upper Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, where stellar physics is least understood, obtaining model independent masses is of great value. Spectroscopic binaries that are also resolved astrometrically are an excellent alternative to eclipsing double-lined spectroscopic binaries where dynamical masses can be measured. 9 Sgr is such a massive binary. However, its characterization is troubled by conflicting conclusions from the spectroscopic analysis on the one hand and the interferometric one on the other hand. In this work, we attempt to resolve this tension by applying a novel approach to spectral disentangling of the spectroscopic data to constrain better the mass of 9 Sgr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]