We present preliminary results of our analysis on the long-term variations observed in the optical spectrum of the LBV star η Carinae. Based on the hydrogen line profiles, we conclude that the physical parameters of the primary star did not change in the last 15 years.

We survey the environment of Cl 1806-20 using near-infrared narrow-band imaging to search for Brγ features indicative of evolved massive stars. Using this technique, we successfully detect previously identified massive stars in the cluster. We detect no new emission line stars, establishing a firm upper limit on the number of Wolf Rayets and Luminous Blue Variables; however, we do find several candidate OB supergiants, which likely represent the bulk of the heretofore undiscovered massive star population.

We have combined 22 deep Chandra ACIS-I pointings to map over one square degree of the Carina complex. Our x-ray survey detects 69 of 70 known O-type stars and 61 of 130 known early B stars. The majority of single O stars display soft X-ray spectra and have a mean log LX/Lbol ≈ −7.5 suggesting shocks embedded in the O-star winds. Over OB stars show unusually high X-ray luminosities, high shock temperatures or time variability, not predicted for embedded wind shocks.

CCD photometry reveals a hot spot on the surface of the hot accretion gainer in this supergiant O type binary with a big accretion rate. This spot is as bright as 25000 Suns. The orbital period of this system is 33.108 days. The absorption-line spectrum contains multiple lines of He I, Si III and N II. The star is associated with H II region formed by bipolar gas outflow from the system.

The O9.5 Vp star HD 93521 is a well known non-radial pulsator located at a high Galactic latitude. The nature (Population I vs. II) of this star has been the subject of controversy for many years. We report on an XMM-Newton observation of the star that sheds new light on its nature.

Massive hot stars are strong sources of X-ray emission originating in their winds. Although hydrodynamical wind simulations that are able to predict this X-ray emission are available, the inclusion of X-rays in stationary wind models is usually based on crude approximations. To improve this, we use results from time-dependent hydrodynamical simulations of the line-driven wind instability to derive an analytical approximation of X-ray emission in the stellar wind. We use this approximation in our non-LTE wind models and find that an improved inclusion of X-rays leads to a better agreement between model ionization fractions and those derived from observations. Furthermore, the slope of the Lx-L relation is in better agreement with observations, albeit the X-ray luminosity is underestimated by a factor of three. We propose that a possible solution for this discrepancy is connected with the wind porosity.

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.

A giant outburst occurred in A0535+262/V725 Tau in November 2009, which lasted approximately 30 days. We carried out spectroscopic monitoring at OAO and GAO from November 2009 to March 2010, from before the giant outburst to the rising phase of the normal outburst which occurred after the next periastron. The obtained H-alpha, H-beta and He I emission lines exhibited drastic profile variability during the observations.

We develop a simple model to derive theoretical continuum energy distributions for B[e] stars, consisting of a B star surrounded by an envelope made of gas and dust. We select a sample of B[e] objects for which we construct the observed energy distributions, from 0.1 to 100 μm, using available photometric and spectroscopic data. We present some preliminary fittings.

Despite the absence of large surveys, the recent X-ray observatories provide X-ray data for hundreds of massive stars (294 OB stars detected in the 2XMM catalog, 129 OB stars detected in the Chandra Carina Complex Project). Analyzing medium-resolution spectra led to new results on the relationship between the X-ray luminosity and the bolometric luminosity, as well as on the typical properties (plasma temperature, variability) of these objects.

Oe stars are thought to represent an extension of the Be phenomenon to higher temperatures. Dedicated XMM observations of HD 155806 revealed a surprising X-ray spectrum: soft character, absence of overluminosity, broad X-ray lines. These properties are fully compatible with the wind-shock model, which usually explains the X-rays from “normal”, single O-type stars. In contrast, some other Oe/Be stars display a completely different behaviour at high energies.

In recent years several in-depth investigations of the three prototypical Of?p stars were undertaken, revealing their peculiar properties. To clarify some of the remaining questions, we have continued our monitoring of the prototypical Of?p trio. HD 108 has now reached its quiescent, minimum-emission state, for the first time in 50–60yrs, while new echelle spectra of HD 148937 confirm the presence in several H and He lines of the 7d variations detected previously only in the Hα line. A new XMM observation of HD 191612 clearly shows that its X-ray emission is not modulated by the orbital period of 1542d, but the high-energy variations are rather compatible with the 538d period of the optical changes - it is thus not of colliding-wind origin but linked to the phenomena responsible for the spectral/photometric variations, though our current MHD simulations remain at odds with the observational properties.

We report on the results from 3-D SPH simulations of TeV binaries with Be stars. Since there is only one TeV binary (B 1259-63) where the nature of the compact companion has been established, we mainly focus on this Be-pulsar system. From simulations of B 1259-63 around periastron, we find that the pulsar wind dominates the Be-star wind and strips off an outer part of the Be-star disk, causing a strongly asymmetric, phase-dependent structure of the circumstellar material around the Be star. Such a large modulation may be detected by optical, IR, and/or UV observations at phases near periastron. We also discuss the results from simulations of another TeV binary LS I+61 303, for which the nature of the compact object is not yet known.

The colliding wind binary (CWB) systems η Carinae and WR140 provide unique laboratories for X-ray astrophysics. Their wind-wind collisions produce hard X-rays that have been monitored extensively by several X-ray telescopes, including RXTE. To interpret these RXTE X-ray light curves, we apply 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the wind-wind collision using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). We find adiabatic simulations that account for the absorption of X-rays from an assumed point source of X-ray emission at the apex of the wind-collision shock cone can closely match the RXTE light curves of both η Car and WR140. This point-source model can also explain the early recovery of η Car's X-ray light curve from the 2009.0 minimum by a factor of 2-4 reduction in the mass loss rate of η Car. Our more recent models account for the extended emission and absorption along the full wind-wind interaction shock front. For WR140, the computed X-ray light curves again match the RXTE observations quite well. But for η Car, a hot, post-periastron bubble leads to an emission level that does not match the extended X-ray minimum observed by RXTE. Initial results from incorporating radiative cooling and radiative forces via an anti-gravity approach into the SPH code are also discussed.

MWC349A, which had remained an ordinary member of the MWC catalog for a few decades, is now known as: (1) the brightest stellar source of radio continuum; (2) the only known high-gain natural maser in hydrogen recombination lines; and (3) the only strictly proven natural high-gain laser (in IR hydrogen recombination lines). These phenomena seem to occur in the circumstellar disk seen almost edge-on. They help us understand the structure and kinematics of the disk. The evolutionary status of MWC 349A is still debated: a young HAeBe star with a pre-planetary disk or an old B[e] star or even a protoplanetary nebula? We discuss new observational data obtained at the Maria Mitchell Observatory and elsewhere which may cast light on this issue.

We present the first spatially resolved observations of circumstellar envelopes of 25 bright northern Be stars. The survey was performed with the CHARA Array interferometer in the K-band at intermediate and long baselines. The interferometric visibilities are well fitted by a viscous disk model where the gas density steeply decreases with the radius. Physical and geometrical parameters such as the density profile, the inclination, and the position angles of the circumstellar disks are determined. We find that the density radial exponent ranges between n ≈ 2.4 − 3.2, which is consistent with previous IRAS measurements. We have also obtained simultaneous optical and near-IR spectrophotometric measurements, and found that the model reproduces well the observed disk IR-continuum excess emission. By combining the projected rotational velocity of the Be star with the disk inclination derived from interferometry, we give estimates of the equatorial rotational velocities of these Be stars.

Un-pulsed γ-ray emission has been detected close to periastron in the pulsar/Be-star binary system PSR B1259-63/SS 2883, believed to originate from the shock front that forms between the stellar and pulsar winds. A likely source of γ-ray production is the inverse Compton up-scattering of target photons from the Be star by relativistic electrons/positrons in the pulsar wind. In this study the influence of the infrared radiation, emanating from the circumstellar disc, on isotropic inverse Compton γ-ray production is investigated. It is shown that the scattering of infrared disc photons can increase the γ-ray flux by a factor ~2 in the 1–10 GeV range.

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.

Be stars are thought to be fast rotating stars surrounded by an equatorial disc. The formation, structure and evolution of the disc are still not well understood. In the frame of single star models, it is expected that the surface of an initially fast rotating star can reach its keplerian velocity (critical velocity). The Geneva stellar evolution code has been recently improved, in order to obtain some estimates of the total mass loss and of the mechanical mass loss rates in the equatorial disc during the whole critical rotation phase. We present here the first results of the computation of a grid of fast rotating B stars evolving towards the Be phase, and discuss the first estimates we obtained.

Highlights of this outstanding meeting are emphasized, as well as important open questions for future research.