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The role of massive stars is central to an understanding of galactic ecology. It is important to establish the details of how massive stars provide radiative, chemical, and mechanical feedback in galaxies. Central to these issues is an understanding of the evolution of massive stars, and the critical role of mass loss via strongly structured winds and stellar binarity. Ultimately, massive stellar clusters shape the structure and energetics of galaxies. We aim to conduct high-resolution, deep field mapping at 21cm of the core of the massive Cygnus OB2 association and to characterise the properties of the massive stars and colliding winds at this waveband. We used seven stations of the e-MERLIN radio facility, with its upgraded bandwidth and enhanced sensitivity to conduct a 21cm census of Cygnus OB2. Based on 42 hours of observations, seven overlapping pointings were employed over multiple epochs during 2014 resulting in 1 sigma sensitivities down to ~21microJy and a resolution of ~180mas. A total of 61 sources are detected at 21cm over a ~0.48deg x 0.48deg region centred on the heart of the Cyg OB2 association. Of these 61 sources, 33 are detected for the first time. We detect a number of previously identified sources including four massive stellar binary systems, two YSOs, and several known X-ray and radio sources. We also detect the LBV candidate (possible binary system) and blue hypergiant (BHG) star of Cyg OB2 #12. The 21cm observations secured in the COBRaS Legacy project provide data to constrain conditions in the outer wind regions of massive stars; determine the non-thermal properties of massive interacting binaries; examine evidence for transient sources, including those associated with young stellar objects; and provide unidentified sources that merit follow-up observations. The 21cm data are of lasting value and will serve in combination with other key surveys of Cyg OB2., 41 pages, 12 figures, accepted in A&A

Context. Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are rare massive stars with very high luminosity. They are characterized by strong photo-metric and spectroscopic variability related to transient eruptions. The mechanisms at the origin of these eruptions is not well known. In addition, their formation is still problematic and the presence of a companion could help to explain how they form. Aims. This article presents a study of seven LBVs (about 20% of the known Galactic population), some Wolf-Rayet stars, and massive binaries. We probe the environments that surround these massive stars with near-, mid-, and far-infrared images, investigating potential nebula/shells and the companion stars. Methods. To investigate large spatial scales, we used seeing-limited and near diffraction-limited adaptive optics images to obtain a differential diagnostic on the presence of circumstellar matter and to determine their extent. From those images, we also looked for the presence of binary companions on a wide orbit. Once a companion was detected, its gravitational binding to the central star was tested. Tests include the chance projection probability, the proper motion estimates with multi-epoch observations, flux ratio, and star separations. Results. We find that two out of seven of LBVs may have a wide orbit companion. Most of the LBVs display a large circumstellar envelope or several shells. In particular, HD168625, known for its rings, possesses several shells with possibly a large cold shell at the edge of which the rings are formed. For the first time, we have directly imaged the companion of LBV stars., Astronomy and Astrophysics, EDP Sciences, 2016

The long-period, highly eccentric O-star binary 9 Sgr, known for its non-thermal radio emission and its relatively bright X-ray emission, went through its periastron in 2013. Such an event can be used to observationally test the predictions of the theory of colliding stellar winds over a broad range of wavelengths. We have conducted a multi-wavelength monitoring campaign of 9 Sgr around the 2013 periastron. In this paper, we focus on X-ray observations and optical spectroscopy. The optical spectra allow us to revisit the orbital solution of 9 Sgr and to refine its orbital period to 9.1 years. The X-ray flux is maximum at periastron over all energy bands, but with clear differences as a function of energy. The largest variations are observed at energies above 2 keV, whilst the spectrum in the soft band (0.5 - 1.0 keV) remains mostly unchanged indicating that it arises far from the collision region, in the inner winds of the individual components. The level of the hard emission at periastron clearly deviates from the 1/r relation expected for an adiabatic wind interaction zone, whilst this relation seems to hold at the other phases covered by our observations. The spectra taken at phase 0.946 reveal a clear Fe xxv line at 6.7 keV, but no such line is detected at periastron (phi = 0.000) although a simple model predicts a strong line that should be easily visible in the data. The peculiarities of the X-ray spectrum of 9 Sgr could reflect the impact of radiative inhibition as well as a phase-dependent efficiency of particle acceleration on the shock properties., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

ESA's Gaia mission will collect low resolution spectroscopy in the optical range for ∼10 9 objects. Com- plete and up-to-date libraries of synthetic stellar spectra are needed to built algorithms aimed to automatically derive the classification and the parametrization of this huge amount of data. In addition, libraries of stellar spectra are one of the main ingredients of stellar population synthesis mod- els, aiming to derive the properties of unresolved stellar populations from their integrated light. We present (a) the newly computed libraries of synthetic spectra built by the Gaia community, covering the whole optical range (300- 1100 nm) at medium-high resolution of (0.3 nm) for stars spanning the most different types, from M to O, from A- peculiar to Emission lines to White Dwarfs, and (b) the im- plementation of those libraries in our SSP code (Tantalo in The Initial Mass Function 50 Years Later, 327:235 2005), exploring different stellar evolution models.

We model the detailed time-evolution of Discrete Absorption Components (DACs) observed in P Cygni profiles of the Si IV lam1400 resonance doublet lines of the fast-rotating supergiant HD 64760 (B0.5 Ib). We adopt the common assumption that the DACs are caused by Co-rotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) in the stellar wind. We perform 3D radiative transfer calculations with hydrodynamic models of the stellar wind that incorporate these large-scale density- and velocity-structures. We develop the 3D transfer code Wind3D to investigate the physical properties of CIRs with detailed fits to the DAC shape and morphology. The CIRs are caused by irregularities on the stellar surface that change the radiative force in the stellar wind. In our hydrodynamic model we approximate these irregularities by circular symmetric spots on the stellar surface. We use the Zeus3D code to model the stellar wind and the CIRs, limited to the equatorial plane. We constrain the properties of large-scale wind structures with detailed fits to DACs observed in HD 64760. A model with two spots of unequal brightness and size on opposite sides of the equator, with opening angles of 20 +/- 5 degr and 30 +/- 5 degr diameter, and that are 20 +/- 5 % and 8 +/- 5 % brighter than the stellar surface, respectively, provides the best fit to the observed DACs. The recurrence time of the DACs compared to the estimated rotational period corresponds to spot velocities that are 5 times slower than the rotational velocity. The mass-loss rate of the structured wind model for HD 64760 does not exceed the rate of the spherically symmetric smooth wind model by more than 1 %. The fact that DACs are observed in a large number of hot stars constrains the clumping that can be present in their winds, as substantial amounts of clumping would tend to destroy the CIRs., Comment: 58 pages, 16 figures, 1 animation. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, Main Journal. More information and animations are available at http://alobel.freeshell.org/hotstars.html

We present radio and submillimetre observations of the O4I(n)f star ζ Pup, and discuss structure in the outer region of its wind (~ 10-100 R*). The properties of bremsstrahlung, the dominant emission process at these wavelengths, make it sensitive to structure and allow us to study how the amount of structure changes in the wind by comparing the fluxes at different wavelengths. To look for variability, we acquired 3.6 and 6 cm observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). We supplemented these with archive observations from the NRAO Very Large Array (VLA). We did not find variability at more than the ± 20 % level. The long integration time does allow an accurate determination of the fluxes at 3.6 and 6 cm. Converting these fluxes into a mass loss rate, we find M = 3.5 x 10-6 M⊙/yr. This value confirms the significant discrepancy with the mass loss rate derived from the Hα profile, making ζ Pup an exception to the usually good agreement between Hα and radio mass loss rates. We also observed ζ Pup at 850 μm with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and at 20 cm with the VLA. A smooth wind model shows that the millimetre fluxes are too high compared to the radio fluxes. While recombination of helium in the outer wind cannot be discounted as an explanation, the wealth of evidence for structure strongly suggests this as the explanation for the discrepancy. Model calculations show that the structure needs to be present in the inner ~ 70 R* of the wind, but that it decays significantly, or maybe even disappears, beyond that radius.

We report the results of an XMM-Newton observation of the Lagoon Nebula (M 8). Our EPIC images of this region reveal a cluster of point sources, most of which have optical counterparts inside the very young open cluster NGC 6530. The bulk of these X-ray sources are probably associated with low and intermediate mass pre-main sequence stars. One of the sources experienced a flare-like increase of its X-ray flux making it the second brightest source in M 8 after the O4 star 9 Sgr. The X-ray spectra of most of the brightest sources can be fitted with thermal plasma models with temperatures of kT af ew keV. Only a few of the X-ray selected PMS candidates are known to display H emission and were previously classified as classical T Tauri stars. This suggests that most of the X-ray emitting PMS stars in NGC 6530 are weak-line T Tauri stars. In addition to 9 Sgr, our EPIC field of view contains also a few early-type stars. The X-ray emission from HD 164816 is found to be typical for an O9.5 III-IV star. At least one of the known Herbig Be stars in NGC 6530 (LkH 115) exhibits a relatively strong X-ray emission, while most of the main sequence stars of spectral type B1 and later are not detected. We also detect (probably) diuse X-ray emission from the Hourglass Region that might reveal a hot bubble blown by the stellar wind of Herschel 36, the ionizing star of the Hourglass Region.

In common with other early-type stars, epsilon Ori (B0 Ia) shows evidence for structure in its stellar wind. Variations in optical and ultraviolet line profiles reveal the presence of large-scale structure in the inner wind. The detection of X-rays and the existence of black troughs in saturated ultraviolet lines are indicative of small-scale structure. The geometric extent of both types of structure is poorly known. In principle, large-scale structure can be detected directly from very high spatial resolution observations that resolve the stellar wind. A simpler technique is to look for the presence of additional flux compared to that expected from a smooth wind. The run of this excess flux as a function of wavelength indicates how fast structure decays in the wind. If there is variability in the excess flux, it shows us that the structure must be large-scale. Such variability is suggested by two previous 6 cm radio observations of epsilon Ori: Abbott et al. (1980) found 1.6 +/- 0.5 mJy, while Scuderi et al. (1998) measured only 0.60 +/- 0.06 mJy. This could indicate that the large-scale structure persists beyond similar to50 R-*. To further investigate this variability, we used the Very Large Array (VLA) to monitor epsilon Ori over a 5-day period in February 1999. We supplemented our data with observations from the VLA archive. In an attempt to resolve the stellar wind, we also obtained a series of high spatial resolution observations with the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) during January-March 1999. From this combined material we find no evidence for variability and we conclude that the Abbott et al. (1980) flux determination is in error. The data do show substantial excess flux at millimetre wavelengths, compared to a smooth wind. This excess is confirmed by a submillimetre observation which we obtained with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The behaviour of epsilon Ori is therefore similar to what had been found previously for alpha Cam, delta Ori A, kappa Ori and zeta Pup. While the present data do not allow very strong constraints, they show that considerable structure must persist up to at least similar to10 R-* in the wind of epsilon Ori. The combined radio fluxes are used to derive a mass-loss rate of log (M) over dot (M./yr) = 5.73 +/- 0.04. This value is in good agreement with the Halpha mass-loss rate. The good agreement between Halpha and radio mass-loss rates for hot stars in general remains puzzling, as it implies that the same amount of structure is present in very different formation regions.

This document is divided in two parts. The first part deals with the radial velocities (RV) distributions for B-type stars and nebulosities observed with the VLT-GIRAFFE in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds towards the open clusters NGC2004 and NGC330. Thanks to the resolution of GIRAFFE spectra, we found that the RV distribution for the nebulosities in the LMC is bi-modal. This bi-modality can be interpreted, in term of dynamics, by the expansion of the LMC4 superbubble. The second part deals with the GAIA space mission and the determination of the radial velocities by using Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) spectra. The methods to determine the radial velocities are presented as well as preliminary results on simulated RVS spectra., Comment: Proceedings GSD2008 conference, submitted to AN

The SRa02 of the CoRoT space mission for Asteroseismology was partly devoted to stars belonging to the Mon OB2 association. An intense monitoring was performed on Plaskett's Star (HD47129) and the unprecedented quality of the light curve allows us to shed new light on this very massive, non-eclipsing binary system. We particularly aimed at detecting periodic variability which might be associated with pulsations or interactions between both components. We also searched for variations related to the orbital cycle which could help to constrain the inclination and the morphology of the binary system. A Fourier-based prewhitening and a multiperiodic fitting procedure were applied to analyse the time series and extract the frequencies of variations. We describe the noise properties to tentatively define an appropriate significance criterion, to only point out the peaks at a certain significance level. We also detect the variations related to the orbital motion and study them by using the NIGHTFALL program. The periodogram exhibits a majority of peaks at low frequencies. Among these peaks, we highlight a list of about 43 values, including notably two different sets of harmonic frequencies whose fundamental peaks are located at about 0.07 and 0.82d-1. The former represents the orbital frequency of the binary system whilst the latter could probably be associated with non-radial pulsations. The study of the 0.07d-1 variations reveals the presence of a hot spot most probably situated on the primary star and facing the secondary. The investigation of this unique dataset constitutes a further step in the understanding of Plaskett's Star. These results provide a first basis for future seismic modelling. The existence of a hot region between both components renders the determination of the inclination ambiguous., Comment: Accepted in A&A, 13 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables

The detection of pulsational frequencies in stellar photometry is required as input for asteroseismological modelling. The second short run (SRa02) of the CoRoT mission has provided photometric data of unprecedented quality and time-coverage for a number of O-type stars. We analyse the CoRoT data corresponding to three hot O-type stars, describing the properties of their light curves and we search for pulsational frequencies, which we then compare to theoretical model predictions. We determine the amplitude spectrum of the data, using the Lomb-Scargle and a multifrequency HMM-like technique. Frequencies are extracted by prewhitening, and their significance is evaluated under the assumption that the light curve is dominated by red noise. We search for harmonics, linear combinations and regular spacings among these frequencies. We use simulations with the same time sampling as the data as a powerful tool to judge the significance of our results. From the theoretical point of view, we use the MAD non-adiabatic pulsation code to determine the expected frequencies of excited modes. A substantial number of frequencies is listed, but none can be convincingly identified as being connected to pulsations. The amplitude spectrum is dominated by red noise. Theoretical modelling shows that all three O-type stars can have excited modes but the relation between the theoretical frequencies and the observed spectrum is not obvious. The dominant red noise component in the hot O-type stars studied here clearly points to a different origin than the pulsations seen in cooler O stars. The physical cause of this red noise is unclear, but we speculate on the possibility of sub-surface convection, granulation, or stellar wind inhomogeneities being responsible., 13 pages, 8 figures, A&A accepted. Tables 2, 3 and 4 available on ftp://omaftp.oma.be/dist/astro/Blomme.R/CoRoT/

As part of the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES), a number of clusters will be observed that were chosen specifically for their massive-star content. We report on the procedures we followed to determine the stellar parameters from the massive-star spectra of this survey. We intercompare the results from the different techniques used by the nodes of our group to determine these parameters and discuss some of the problems encountered. We present preliminary results for NGC 6705, NGC 3293, and Trumpler 14. We study microturbulence in A-type stars, we use the repeat observation to investigate binarity, and we determine cluster membership from the radial velocity information. The large number of massive-star spectra obtained by the Gaia-ESO Survey will allow us to critically test stellar evolution modelling.

In the framework of the Gaia-ESO survey we have determined the fundamental parameters of a large number of B-type stars in the Galactic, young open cluster NGC 3293. The determination of the stellar parameters is based on medium-resolution spectra obtained with FLAMES/GIRAFFE at ESO-VLT. As a second step, we adopted the accurate parameters to determine the chemical abundances of these hot stars. We present a comparison of our results with those obtained by the 'VLT-FLAMES survey of massive stars' (Evans et al. 2005). Our study increases the number of objects analysed and provides an extended view of this cluster.

Several colliding-wind massive binaries are known to be non-thermal emitters in the radio domain. This constitutes strong evidence for the fact that an efficient particle acceleration process is at work in these objects. The acceleration mechanism is most probably the Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) process in the presence of strong hydrodynamic shocks due to the colliding-winds. In order to investigate the physics of this particle acceleration, we initiated a multiwavelength campaign covering a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this context, the detailed study of the hard X-ray emission from these sources in the SIMBOL-X bandpass constitutes a crucial element in order to probe this still poorly known topic of astrophysics. It should be noted that colliding-wind massive binaries should be considered as very valuable targets for the investigation of particle acceleration in a similar way as supernova remnants, but in a different region of the parameter space., 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Proc. of the Second Internqtionql Simbol-X Symposium, held in Paris (France)

Many stars continuously eject material and thus surround themselves with a stellar wind. We can observe this wind indirectly through its characteristic effects on the stellar spectrum. In particular, this mass flow influences the line profiles. These so called P-Cygni profiles can be observed in the visual part of the spectrum of early-type stars and Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as - and even more clearly - in the ultraviolet part. In order to study the stellar wind structure, a computer programme was written which calculates theoretical P-Cygni profiles using the Comoving Frame Method. As input, this code can use the results obtained from other programmes, such as a non-LTE code. Through parameter adjustments a fit to an observed profile can be made.

We report the results of a multiwavelength study of the non-thermal radio emitter HD 168112 (O5.5III(f+)). The detailed analysis of two quasi-simultaneous XMM-Newton and VLA observations reveals strong variability of this star both in the X-ray and radio ranges. The X-ray observations separated by five months reveal a decrease of the X-ray flux of ~30%. The radio emission on the other hand increases by a factor 5-7 between the two observations obtained roughly simultaneously with the XMM-Newton pointings. The X-ray data reveal a hard emission that is most likely produced by a thermal plasma at kT ~2-3 keV while the VLA data confirm the non-thermal status of this star in the radio waveband. Comparison with archive X-ray and radio data confirms the variability of this source in both wavelength ranges over a yet ill defined time scale. The properties of HD 168112 in the X-ray and radio domain point towards a binary system with a significant eccentricity and an orbital period of a few years. However, our optical spectra reveal no significant changes of the star's radial velocity suggesting that if HD 168112 is indeed a binary, it must be seen under a fairly low inclination. Based on observations with XMM-Newton, an ESA Science Mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member states and the USA (NASA). Also based on observations collected with the VLA, an instrument of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated by Associated Universities, Inc. Optical data were collected at the European Southern Observatory (La Silla, Chile), and at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional of San Pedro Mártir (Mexico).

We present a model for the non-thermal radio emission from bright O stars, in terms of synchrotron emission from wind-embedded shocks. The model is an extension of an earlier one, with an improved treatment of the cooling of relativistic electrons. This improvement limits the synchrotron-emitting volume to a series of fairly narrow layers behind the shocks. We show that the width of these layers increases with increasing wavelength, which has important consequences for the shape of the spectrum. We also show that the strongest shocks produce the bulk of the emission, so that the emergent radio flux can be adequately described as coming from a small number of shocks, or even from a single shock. A single shock model is completely determined by four parameters: the position of the shock, the compression ratio and velocity jump of the shock, and the surface magnetic field. Applying a single shock model to the O5 If star Cyg OB2 No. 9 allows a good determination of the compression ratio and shock position and, to a lesser extent, the magnetic field and velocity jump. Our main conclusion is that strong shocks need to survive out to distances of a few hundred stellar radii. Even with multiple shocks, the shocks needed to explain the observed emission are stronger than predictions from time-dependent hydrodynamical simulations., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics

We present radio and submillimetre observations of the O4I(n)f star zeta Pup, and discuss structure in the outer region of its wind ( ~ 10-100 R_*). The properties of bremsstrahlung, the dominant emission process at these wavelengths, make it sensitive to structure and allow us to study how the amount of structure changes in the wind by comparing the fluxes at different wavelengths. Possible forms of structure at these distances include Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs), stochastic clumping, a disk or a polar enhancement. As the CIRs are azimuthally asymmetric, they should result in variability at submillimetre or radio wavelengths. To look for this variability, we acquired 3.6 and 6 cm observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), covering about two rotational periods of the star. We supplemented these with archive observations from the NRAO Very Large Array (VLA), which cover a much longer time scale. We did not find variability at more than the +/-20% level. The long integration time does allow an accurate determination of the fluxes at 3.6 and 6 cm. Converting these fluxes into a mass loss rate, we find dot M = 3.5 x 10-6 Msun/yr. This value confirms the significant discrepancy with the mass loss rate derived from the Halpha profile, making zeta Pup an exception to the usually good agreement between the Halpha and radio mass loss rates. To study the run of structure as a function of distance, we supplemented the ATCA data by observing zeta Pup at 850 mu m with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and at 20 cm with the VLA. A smooth wind model shows that the millimetre fluxes are too high compared to the radio fluxes. While recombination of helium in the outer wind cannot be discounted as an explanation, the wealth of evidence for structure strongly suggests this as the explanation for the discrepancy. Model calculations show that the structure needs to be present in the inner ~ 70 R_* of the wind, but that it decays significantly, or maybe even disappears, beyond that radius.

In common with other early-type stars, epsilon Ori (B0 Ia) shows evidence for structure in its stellar wind. Variations in optical and ultraviolet line profiles reveal the presence of large-scale structure in the inner wind. The detection of X-rays and the existence of black troughs in saturated ultraviolet lines are indicative of small-scale structure. The geometric extent of both types of structure is poorly known. In principle, large-scale structure can be detected directly from very high spatial resolution observations that resolve the stellar wind. A simpler technique is to look for the presence of additional flux compared to that expected from a smooth wind. The run of this excess flux as a function of wavelength indicates how fast structure decays in the wind. If there is variability in the excess flux, it shows us that the structure must be large-scale. Such variability is suggested by two previous 6 cm radio observations of epsilon Ori: Abbott et al. (\cite{Abbott+al80}) found 1.6 +/- 0.5 mJy, while Scuderi et al. (\cite{Scuderi+al98}) measured only 0.60 +/- 0.06 mJy. This could indicate that the large-scale structure persists beyond ~ 50 R*. To further investigate this variability, we used the Very Large Array (VLA) to monitor epsilon Ori over a 5-day period in February 1999. We supplemented our data with observations from the VLA archive. In an attempt to resolve the stellar wind, we also obtained a series of high spatial resolution observations with the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) during January-March 1999. From this combined material we find no evidence for variability and we conclude that the Abbott et al. (\cite{Abbott+al80}) flux determination is in error. The data do show substantial excess flux at millimetre wavelengths, compared to a smooth wind. This excess is confirmed by a submillimetre observation which we obtained with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The behaviour of epsilon Ori is therefore similar to what had been found previously for alpha Cam, delta Ori A, kappa Ori and zeta Pup. While the present data do not allow very strong constraints, they show that considerable structure must persist up to at least ~ 10 R* in the wind of epsilon Ori. The combined radio fluxes are used to derive a mass-loss rate of log dot {M} (Msun/yr)= -5.73 +/- 0.04. This value is in good agreement with the Halpha mass-loss rate. The good agreement between Halpha and radio mass-loss rates for hot stars in general remains puzzling, as it implies that the same amount of structure is present in very different formation regions.

The IRAS satellite has observed some early-type stars in the infrared part of the spectrum. Most of this infrared radiation is due to free-free scattering in the dense stellar wind of these stars. We modelled this phenemenon by solving the equations of hydrodynamics as well as the radiative transfer equation (for a H and He mixture). This yields continuum fluxes at visible and infrared wavelengths which have been compared with the observations.

Some OB stars show variable non-thermal radio emission. The non-thermal emission is due to synchrotron radiation that is emitted by electrons accelerated to high energies. The electron acceleration occurs at strong shocks created by the collision of radiatively-driven stellar winds in binary systems. Here we present results of our modelling of two colliding wind systems: Cyg OB2 No. 8A and Cyg OB2 No. 9., 2 pages, 2 figures, poster at IAUS272

First results of near-IR adaptive optics (AO)-assisted imaging, interferometry, and spectroscopy of this Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) are presented. They suggest that the Pistol Star is at least double. If the association is physical, it would reinforce questions concerning the importance of multiplicity for the formation and evolution of extremely massive stars., poster at IAUS272

The Gaia mission will obtain accurate positions, parallaxes and proper motions for 109object all over the sky. In addition, it will collect low resolution spectroscopy in the optical range for ~109objects, stars, galaxies, and QSOs. Parameters of those objects are expected to be part of the final Catalog. Complete and up-to-date libraries of synthetic stellar spectra are needed to train the algorithms to classify this huge amount of data. Here we focus on the use of the synthetic libraries of spectra calculated by the Gaia community to derive grids of Single Stellar Populations as building blocks of population synthesis models.

We have used the C100 camera of the ISOPHOT instrument to obtain ~ 80 maps around both hot and cool stars, using the AOTs PHT 22 and PHT 32. Extracting the faint fluxes from the strong background requires considerable care in the data reduction. We have noticed certain peculiarities in the behaviour of the C100 detector, of which we present some examples. We discuss different possible explanations and suggest a number of solutions.

Mass loss has an important effect on the evolution of early-type stars. The most reliable mass loss rates are determined from the radio continuum. However there is a wealth of observational evidence (Discrete Absorption Components, X-rays, IR continuum, Hα variability, …) indicating that the stellar wind is clumped. As the radio emission is proportional to the square of the density, an observed radio flux can be explained by a lower mass loss rate in a clumped wind than in a smooth wind. Therefore, if these clumps persist into the radio formation region, the mass loss rates will be overestimated.

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The infrared and radio continuum fluxes of 18 well-observed early-type stars are studied by comparing observations with theoretical models. The observations are taken from the literature. All available observations are included. The theoretical NLTE models for photosphere and stellar wind include free-free and free-bound emission as well as electron scattering. The good quality of the model is shown by the agreement of the theoretical and observed fluxes for most stars. For four stars (alpha Cam, delta Ori A, kappa Ori and zeta Pup) the observations suggest the presence of an additional emission mechanism (inhomogeneous and/or anisotropic outflow).

The contribution of bound-free and free-free processes to the outward acceleration of zeta Pup is studied and is found to be negligible.

The infrared and radio continuum fluxes of a number of OB-stars are compared to theoretical models. This gives us information about the mass loss rates and the structure of the stellar wind. The more extreme O-star zeta Pup appears to show an effect of clumping in its continuum flux.

The Gaia-ESO Survey will produce spectra of about 100 000 stars, using the VLT FLAMES instrument. This includes hot, massive stars in a number of selected clusters. I describe the on-going cluster selection as well as the work package responsible for analyzing the hot-star spectra.

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Many stars continuously eject material and thus surround themselves with a stellar wind. We can observe this wind indirectly through its characteristic effects on the stellar spectrum. In particular, this mass flow influences the line profiles. These so called P-Cygni profiles can be observed in the visual part of the spectrum of early-type stars and Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as - and even more clearly - in the ultraviolet part. In order to study the stellar wind structure, a computer programme was written which calculates theoretical P-Cygni profiles using the Comoving Frame Method. As input, this code can use the results obtained from other programmes, such as a non-LTE code. Through parameter adjustments a fit to an observed profile can be made.

We use ISO-PHOT maps around five WN stars to derive their far-infrared fluxes. In some cases we also detect a nebula around the star.

We present a model for the non-thermal radio emission from presumably single O stars, in terms of synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons accelerated in wind-embedded shocks. These shocks are associated with an unstable, chaotic wind. The main improvement with respect to earlier models is the inclusion of the radial dependence of the shock velocity jump and compression ratio, based on 1D hydrodynamical simulations. The decrease of the velocity jump and the compression ratio as a function of radius produces a rapidly decreasing synchrotron emissivity. This effectively prohibits the models from reproducing the spectral shape of the observed non-thermal radio emission. We investigate a number of "escape routes" by which the hydrodynamical predictions might be reconciled with the radio observations. Although these escape routes reproduce the observed spectral shape, none of these escape routes are physically plausible. In particular, re-acceleration by feeding an electron distribution through a number of shocks, is in contradiction with current hydrodynamical simulations. These hydrodynamical simulations have their limitations, most notably the use of 1D. At present, it is not feasible to perform 2D simulations of the wind out to the distances required for synchrotron-emission models. Based on the current hydrodynamic models, we suspect that the observed non-thermal radio emission from O stars cannot be explained by wind-embedded shocks associated with the instability of the line-driving mechanism. The most likely alternative mechanism is synchrotron emission from colliding winds. That would imply that all O stars with non-thermal radio emission should be members of binary or multiple systems., 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication by A&A

We apply the P32Tools model for the C100 detector to staring observations. We find that the model does not correctly treat large downward flux steps.

The large number of scientific observations in the ISO archive reveals considerable systematics in the detector behaviour, which can be used to improve the data reduction process.

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The use of the IR and radio continuum as a clumping indicator for the stellar wind of early-type stars is investigated.

International audience; ESA's cornerstone mission Gaia is scheduled to be launched in late 2011. It will determine the positions and distances of more than 24 million stars within 3 kpc of the Sun with a 1% relative accuracy. About 150,000 O and B-type stars are expected in the whole sample, as well as additional peculiar stars such as Be, B[e], and WR stars. Gaia will also provide spectrophotometry over the spectral range 330-1150 nm (RP/BP bands) and medium-resolution spectroscopy in the domain ranging from 847 to 874 nm (RVS spectral range). A large effort is now under way to develop the necessary software aiming at automatically derive the astrophysical parameters and radial velocities. One component of this development is the computation of grids of synthetic spectra for different types of stars and, in particular, for massive stars.

We report the results of an XMM-Newton observation of the Lagoon Nebula (M 8). Our EPIC images of this region reveal a cluster of point sources, most of which have optical counterparts inside the very young open cluster NGC 6530. The bulk of these X-ray sources are probably associated with low and intermediate mass pre-main sequence stars. One of the sources experienced a flare-like increase of its X-ray flux making it the second brightest source in M 8 after the O4 star 9 Sgr. The X-ray spectra of most of the brightest sources can be fitted with thermal plasma models with temperatures of kT ~ a few keV. Only a few of the X-ray selected PMS candidates are known to display Halpha emission and were previously classified as classical T Tauri stars. This suggests that most of the X-ray emitting PMS stars in NGC 6530 are weak-line T Tauri stars. In addition to 9 Sgr, our EPIC field of view contains also a few early-type stars. The X-ray emission from HD 164816 is found to be typical for an O9.5 III-IV star. At least one of the known Herbig Be stars in NGC 6530 (LkHalpha 115) exhibits a relatively strong X-ray emission, while most of the main sequence stars of spectral type B1 and later are not detected. We also detect (probably) diffuse X-ray emission from the Hourglass Region that might reveal a hot bubble blown by the stellar wind of Herschel 36, the ionizing star of the Hourglass Region. Based on observations with XMM-Newton, an ESA Science Mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member states and the USA (NASA).

We present a theoretical model for the non-thermal radio emission from single hot stars, in terms of synchrotron radiation from electrons accelerated in wind-embedded shocks. The model is described by five independent parameters each with a straightforward physical interpretation. Applying the model to a high-quality observation of Cyg OB2 No. 9 (O5 If), we obtain meaningful constraints on most parameters. The most important result is that the outer boundary of the synchrotron emission region must lie between 500 and 2200 stellar radii. This means that shocks must persist up to that distance. We also find that relatively weak shocks (with a compression ratio < 3) are needed to produce the observed radio spectrum. These results are compatible with current hydrodynamical predictions. Most of our models also show a relativistic electron fraction that increases outwards. This points to an increasing efficiency of the acceleration mechanism, perhaps due to multiple acceleration, or an increase in the strength of the shocks. Implications of our results for non-thermal X-ray emission are discussed., 9 pages, 4 figures, article will appear in A&A

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For 18 galactic hot stars (spectral type O-B3), we compare continuum observations gathered from the literature with the predictions of a NLTE model of a smooth wind. We find that for stars which have unambiguous observations at wavelengths beyond ~ 20 μm, a smooth wind model systematically underestimates the observed emission. We take this to be a confirmation of the presence of considerable structure in the stellar wind.

We discuss the results of two XMM-Newton observations of the open cluster NGC 6604 obtained in April and September 2002. We concentrate mainly on the multiple system HD 167971 (O5-8V + O5-8V + (O8I)). The soft part of the EPIC spectrum of this system is thermal with typical temperatures of about 2 × 106 to 9 × 106 K. The nature (thermal vs. non-thermal) of the hard part of the spectrum is not unambiguously revealed by our data. If the emission is thermal, the high temperature of the plasma (~2.3 × 107 to 4.6 × 107 K) would be typical of what should be expected from a wind-wind interaction zone within a long period binary system. This emission could arise from an interaction between the combined winds of the O5-8V + O5-8V close binary system and that of the more distant O8I companion. Assuming instead that the hard part of the spectrum is non-thermal, the photon index would be rather steep (~3). Moreover, a marginal variability between our two XMM-Newton pointings could be attributed to an eclipse of the O5-8V+ O5-8V system. The overall X-ray luminosity points to a significant X-ray luminosity excess of about a factor 4 possibly due to colliding winds. Considering HD 167971 along with several recent X-ray and radio observations, we propose that the simultaneous observation of non-thermal radiation in the X-ray (below 10.0 keV) and radio domains appears rather unlikely. Our investigation of our XMM-Newton data of NGC 6604 reveals a rather sparse distribution of X-ray emitters. Including the two bright non-thermal radio emitters HD 168112 and HD 167971, we present a list of 31 X-ray sources along with the results of the cross-correlation with optical and infrared catalogues. A more complete spectral analysis is presented for the brightest X-ray sources. Some of the members of NGC 6604 present some characteristics suggesting they may be pre-main sequence star candidates.