Episodic mass loss is not understood theoretically, neither accounted for in state-of-the-art models of stellar evolution, which has far-reaching consequences for many areas of astronomy. We introduce the ERC-funded ASSESS project (2018-2024), which aims to determine whether episodic mass loss is a dominant process in the evolution of the most massive stars, by conducting the first extensive, multi-wavelength survey of evolved massive stars in the nearby Universe. It hinges on the fact that mass-losing stars form dust and are bright in the mid-infrared. We aim to derive physical parameters of ∼1000 dusty, evolved massive stars in ∼25 nearby galaxies and estimate the amount of ejected mass, which will constrain evolutionary models, and quantify the duration and frequency of episodic mass loss as a function of metallicity. The approach involves applying machine-learning algorithms to select dusty, luminous targets from existing multi-band photometry of nearby galaxies. We present the first results of the project, including the machine-learning methodology for target selection and results from our spectroscopic observations so far. The emerging trend for the ubiquity of episodic mass loss, if confirmed, will be key to understanding the explosive early Universe and will have profound consequences for low-metallicity stars, reionization, and the chemical evolution of galaxies.

Massive stars emit X-rays. Despite modest X-ray luminosities of single hot massive stars, the ongoing large observing campaigns combining X-ray and UV spectroscopy provide a tomographic view of stellar winds. It is now established that X-ray radiation is modulated with stellar rotation and shows the same period as discrete absorption components (DACs) in the UV resonance lines. The latter are associated with corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in stellar winds, therefore the mechanisms responsible for generation of X-rays and CIRs appear to be physically linked. Binary massive stars with accreting compact companions – high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) – are routinely observed by modern X-ray observatories at Mpc distances. Joint observations in X-ray and UV allow to determine realistic properties of these systems. The brightest sources among HMXBs are ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). Their powerful radiation is an important source of stellar feedback. HMXBs are the products of massive binary evolution and are typically found in the vicinity of young massive star clusters. The superstar clusters blow hot superbubbles which fill large areas in star-forming dwarf galaxies. Recent models show that X-ray emission from superbubbles is likely the dominant source of He ii ionization in metal-poor star-forming dwarf galaxies. To conclude, X-ray observations provide an important window for studying massive stars and their feedback near and far.

The Intensity Interferometry technique consists of measuring the spatial coherence (visibility) of an object via its intensity fluctuations over a sufficient range of telescope separations (baselines). This allows us to study the size, shape and morphology of stars with an unprecedented resolution. Cherenkov telescopes have a set of characteristics that coincidentally allow for Intensity Interferometry observations: very large reflective surfaces, sensitivity to individual photons, temporal resolution of nanoseconds and the fact that they come in groups of several telescopes. In the recent years, the MAGIC Collaboration has developed a deadtime-free Intensity Interferometry setup for its two 17 m diameter Cherenkov telescopes that includes a 4-channel GPU-based real-time correlator, 410–430 nm filters and new ways of splitting its primary mirrors into submirrors using Active Mirror Control (AMC). With this setup, MAGIC can operate as a long-baseline optical interferometer in the baseline range 40–90 m, which translates into angular resolutions of 0.5-1 mas. Additionally, thanks to its AMC, it can simultaneously measure the zero-baseline correlation or, by splitting into submirrors, access shorter baselines under 17 m in multiple u-v plane orientations. The best candidates to observe with this technique are relatively small and bright stars, in other words, massive stars (O, B and A types). We will present the science cases that are currently being proposed for this setup, as well as the prospects for the future of the system and technique, like the possibility of large-scale implementation with CTA.

NGC3603 is one of the youngest massive clusters of the Milky Way which uniquely enables studying the interplay between massive star feedback and the surrounding interstellar medium. Yet, a deep infrared (IR) view of the cluster is missing. We present guaranteed time observations of NGC3603 consisting of near infrared spectroscopy taken with VLT-KMOS. This data set will provide a first, rather complete IR census.

The first magnetic field in a star other than the Sun was detected in 1947 in the star 78 Vir. Today, we know that about 10% of these intermediate-mass and high-mass stars have strong, large-scale surface magnetic fields whose origin has remained a mystery till today. It has been suggested that merging of main-sequence and pre-main-sequence stars could produce such strong fields. The massive star τ Sco is a well-known member of the group of magnetic stars and is a blue straggler given its apparently young age compared to that of other members of the Upper Scorpius association. Here, we present 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the coalescence of two massive main-sequence stars and 1D stellar evolution computations of the subsequent evolution of the merger product that can explain τ Sco’s magnetic field, apparent youth and other observed characteristics. We argue that field amplification in stellar mergers is a general mechanism to form strongly-magnetised massive stars. Such stars are promising progenitors of magnetars, which may give rise to some of the enigmatic fast radio bursts, and their supernova explosions may be affected by the strong magnetic fields.

The first stars in the Universe have inherited their composition from primordial nucleosynthesis, so they have no metal. These stars, which are also named population III (pop III) stars, began the process of reionization in the Universe and contributed to the metal enrichment with heavy elements. Previous studies showed that they should have been rotating fast due to small or no angular momentum loss, reaching easily the critical velocity since they are massive and have very low stellar winds, thus their mass loss is very low or zero. Our aim is to study how the production of primary nitrogen is affected due to high rotation in the pop III stars. So, we compared grids of pop III stars with zero, average, and high rotation. All these models have been computed using Geneva code (GENEC) in the mass range of 9M⊙ ≤ Mini ≤ 120M⊙. Due to the rotational mixing, the carbon produced in the He-burning core is diffused towards the H-burning shell, triggering the CNO cycle and producing primary nitrogen. In some models the transition of the shell from a pp-chain H-burning to a CNO H-burning induces a strong energy release and a complete change of the stellar structure and the nucleosynthesis. The production of nitrogen is boosted for the high rotation models.

Supermassive stars represent a promising avenue for seeding the (super-)massive black holes observed in the centres of massive galaxies. In these proceedings I review the motivation on the need for supermassive stars as a progenitor pathway for seeding massive black holes. I discuss the currently understood limitations of seeds produced by less massive stars (i.e. remnants from the first generation of stars) and advocate that more massive stars - with masses up to M∗ ∼ 105Mȯ - formed under the conditions of hierarchical structure formation, in rare haloes, are the favoured pathway. Finally, I discuss some recent high resolution simulations demonstrating the formation of supermassive stars in early galaxies.

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.

Rotation plays an important role in the structure and evolution of massive stars. It leads to deviation from spherical symmetry for very fast rotating stars, mixing in otherwise unmixed radiative regions and generally increased mass loss. In addition, magnetic fields interact with rotation and lead to significant transport of angular momentum. In this article, we review the various rotational and magnetic instabilities present in massive stars and their implementation in one-dimensional stellar evolution codes. We then focus on their impact on the evolution of single rotating stars. Finally, we compare rotating models to observations and discuss ways to disentangle between various uncertainties.

The wealth of information obtained about massive stars from observations at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths has been fundamental to understand their structure and the mechanisms regulating their evolution. There are however, important aspects that have not yet been addressed due to the lack of data and the relevant instrumentation such as the role of binarity and magnetic fields or the impact of low metallicity in the evolution of massive stars. There are plans to develop UV spectropolarimeters, UV monitors and very efficient telescopes with high collecting surfaces that will revolutionize the field. In this contribution, a short update on the current and foreseen UV instrumentation is provided.

At the time of this meeting, the latest Gaia data release is EDR3, published on 3 December 2020, but the next one, DR3, will appear soon, on 13 June 2022. This contribution describes, on the one hand, Gaia EDR3 results on massive stars and young stellar clusters, placing special emphasis on how a correct treatment of the astrometric and photometric calibration yields results that are simultaneously precise and accurate. On the other hand, it gives a brief description of the exciting results we can expect from Gaia DR3.

The Alicante Survey of MAssive Stars in Hii Regions (A-SMASHeR) is aimed at finding the ratio of massive stars that are born in isolation. We present LIRIS/WHT images and EMIR/GTC spectra of the massive stellar content in A-SMASHeR regions. Our preliminary analysis yields ∼20% of regions hosting relatively (or truly) isolated massive stars.

We report recent ESPaDOnS and HARPSpol spectropolarimetric observations from our ongoing magnetic survey of the brightest twenty-five classical Cepheids. Stokes V magnetic signatures are detected in eight of fifteen targets observed to date. The Stokes V profiles show a diversity of morphologies with weak associated longitudinal field measurements of order 1 G. Many of the Stokes V profiles are difficult to interpret in the context of the normal Zeeman effect. They consist of approximately unipolar single or double lobe(s) of positive or negative circular polarization. We hypothesize that these unusual signatures are due to the Zeeman effect modified by atmospheric velocity or magnetic field gradients. In contrast, the Stokes V profiles of Polaris and MY Pup appear qualitatively similar to the complex magnetic signatures of non-pulsating cool supergiants, possibly due to the low pulsation amplitudes of these two stars.

Local Group (LG) very metal-poor massive stars are the best proxy for the First Stars of the Universe, fundamental to model the early evolution of the first galaxies, and key to unravelling new evolutionary pathways restricted to low metallicities, such as chemically homogeneous evolution. Yet, due to the great leap in distance required to reach metal-poor galaxies of the LG and vicinity, no comprehensive spectroscopic studies have been carried out at sub-$$$$ metallicities so far.

We focus on the massive star population of the 1/10Ȯ galaxy Sextans A. After five observing campaigns at the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), we have assembled a spectroscopic catalogue of more than 150 OB stars. This catalogue will be fundamental to test stellar evolution at very low metallicity, to detect the first binary systems at 1/10Ȯ and to unveil the most recent star formation history of this galaxy.

The galactic binary star LB-1 contains a recently stripped B-type star. Comparing its properties to detailed binary star models shows that tidal braking and magnetic torques lead to low surface rotational velocities in the stripped donors after Roche-lobe overffiow. Models without magnetic torques cannot reproduce the observed low surface rotation.

Most massive stars (up to 100%) are thought to be in binary systems. The multiplicity of massive stars seems to be intrinsically linked to their formation and evolution, and so Massive Young Stellar Objects are key in observing this early stage of star formation. We have surveyed hundreds of MYSOs across the Galaxy from the RMS catalogue, using UKIDSS and VVV point source data. Preliminary results show binary fractions of 44±3% for the UKIDSS sample and 32±3% for the VVV sample. In addition we use the K-band magnitudes as a proxy for the companion mass, and find a significant fraction of the detected companions have estimated mass ratios greater than 0.5, which suggests a deviation from the capture formation scenario.

In this contribution, we explore the question on the formation of multiple massive stellar systems via disk fragmentation with the help of the highest-resolution simulations to date of a fragmenting disk in the context of massive star formation. The simulations start from a collapsing cloud of 200 solar masses, followed by the formation of an accretion disk that develops spiral arms and fragments. Due to the high resolution of our grid, we are able to self-consistently form the fragments without the need for a subgrid module such as sink particles. We track the formed fragments into the first stages of companion formation, which allows us to give an estimate of the multiplicity of the final system due to disk fragmentation. We find in total around ∼6 fragments, some at orbits of ∼ 1000 au, and some close (possibly spectroscopic) companions.

Wolf-Rayet stars are regarded as candidates for progenitors of core-collapse supernovae, and they are expected to be progenitors of long gamma-ray bursts. These types of stars are considered to be fast rotators. Their high rotation speed breaks the sphericity of the star and leads to an axisymmetric wind density structure. In such a case, the electron scattering takes place in a nonspherical environment, and as a result, we might expect an intrinsic polarization. We present a 2.5D radiation hydrodynamic stellar wind model of these stars. The model simulations account for the deformation of the stellar surface due to rotation, gravity darkening, and nonradial forces. We computed the polarization from the density variable of the hydrodynamic model, derived the upper limit of rotational velocities, and found no conflict with the previous studies of Wolf-Rayet stars.

The jittering jets explosion mechanism of core collapse supernovae proposes that stochastic convective motion, amplified by instabilities, results in intermittent accretion disk that launches jittering jets that explode the star. We conduct one-dimensional simulations of a wide range of stellar masses and show that the convective motion in the pre-collapse stellar core, when scaled to corresponding three-dimensional simulations, supply sufficient angular momentum fluctuation to form the intermittent accretion disk the launches the jittering jets. The resulting neutron star masses are consistent with observations.

Over the last two decades there have been considerable advances in modelling the spectra of massive stars and supernovae (SNe). Despite this progress, there are still numerous uncertainties that affect the accuracy of models. For massive stars, convection, instabilities, clumping, and our inability to model stellar winds self-consistently likely introduce systematic errors into our analyses. For SNe, and particularly for core-collapse SNe, departures from spherical symmetry strongly affect observed spectra and need to be taken into account. There are also issues with clumping, and mixing processes (both in the progenitor and the SN explosion) that need to be resolved. For both massive stars and SNe, the accuracy and availability of atomic data continues to be an ongoing issue influencing analyses.