Mass loss through stellar winds plays a dominant role in the evolution of massive stars. Very massive stars (VMSs, > 100Mȯ) display Wolf-Rayet spectral morphologies (WNh) whilst on the main-sequence. Bestenlehner (2020) extended the elegant and widely used stellar wind theory by Castor, Abbott & Klein (1975) from the optically thin (O star) to the optically thick main-sequence (WNh) wind regime. The new mass-loss description is able to explain the empirical mass-loss dependence on the Eddington parameter and is suitable for incorporation into stellar evolution models for massive and very massive stars. The prescription can be calibrated with the transition mass-loss rate defined in Vink & Gräfener (2012). Based on the stellar sample presented in Bestenlehner et al. (2014) we derive a mass-loss recipe for the Large Magellanic Cloud using the new theoretical mass-loss prescription of Bestenlehner (2020).

We consider an exoplanetary system consisting of a star and two planets. The masses of the planets are significantly less than the mass of the star. The evolution of the orbital motion of exoplanets is studied within the framework of a double averaged unrestricted three-body problem. The main attention is paid to coplanar configurations, when the star and planets move in a certain plane that preserves a constant position. The possibility of reversing the orbital motion of the inner planet is noted.

We report on a direct comparison of VLBI maser data and ALMA thermal-emission data for the high-mass protostar G353.273+0.641. We detected a gravitationally-unstable disk by dust and a high-velocity jet traced by a thermal CO line by ALMA long-baselines (LB). 6.7 GHz CH3OH masers trace infalling streamlines inside the disk. The innermost maser ring indicates another compact accretion disk of 30 au. Such a nested system could be caused by angular momentum transfer by the spiral arms. 22 GHz H2O masers trace the jet-accelerating region, which are directly connecting the CO jet and the protostar. The recurrent maser flares imply episodic jet ejections per 1–2 yr, while typical separation of CO knots indicates a variation of outflow rate per 100 yr. Our study demonstrates that VLBI maser observations are still a powerful tool to explore detailed structures nearby high-mass protostars by combining ALMA LB.

Hot, massive stars are known to host unstable, radiation-driven outflowing winds, giving rise to dense clumps of material which severely affect the diagnostic techniques used to derive wind properties of massive stars. Most of the current diagnostic models account for wind inhomogeneities by assuming a one-component medium consisting of optically thin clumps, and maintaining a smooth velocity-field. However, this neglects important light-leakage effects through porous channels in-between the clumps. These light-leakage effects have recently been incorporated in the stellar atmosphere modelling code FASTWIND, and here we will present quantitative mass-loss results from a combined Ultraviolet-Optical wind analysis of O-supergiants in the Galaxy. Using a genetic-algorithm fitting-approach, we systematically investigate the impact the wind physics has on derived stellar and wind parameters, and how this depends on metallicity and spectral type. We compare our findings with earlier results (which do not take into account such light-leakage effects), to standard mass-loss rates usually included in evolution model studies of massive stars, and with theoretical predictions of clumping properties. We will also present the first systematic empirical constraints on the new wind parameters, associated with light-leakage, and compare these with theoretical predictions.

Several radio sources have been detected in the high-mass star-forming region W75N(B), among them the massive young stellar objects VLA 1 and VLA 2 are of great interest. These are thought to be in different evolutionary stages. In particular, VLA 1 is at the early stage of the photoionization and it is driving a thermal radio jet, while VLA 2 is a thermal, collimated ionized wind surrounded by a dusty disk or envelope. In both sources 22 GHz H2O masers have been detected in the past. Those around VLA 1 show a persistent linear distribution along the thermal radio jet and those around VLA 2 have instead traced the evolution from a non-collimated to a collimated outflow over a period of ∼20 years. The magnetic field inferred from the H2O masers showed a rotation of its orientation according to the direction of the major-axis of the shell around VLA 2, while it is immutable around VLA 1.

We further monitored the polarized emission of the 22 GHz H2O masers around both VLA 1 and VLA 2 over a period of six years with the European VLBI Network for a total of four epochs separated by two years from 2014 to 2020. We here present the results of our monitoring project by focusing on the evolution of the maser distribution and of the magnetic field around the two massive young stellar objects.

This is a study about the dynamical stability of the GJ 876 exoplanetary system. The phase space of initial conditions (ICs) is characterized using the MEGNO indicator of chaos and the Shannon entropy approach for estimations of diffusivity. The results are compared to analyze correlations between the chaotic layers and the instability timescales. The long-term dynamical behavior of the system is reminiscent of the stable chaos, at least within the system’s lifetime.

Spectroscopy can decode the radiation from stars in an appropriate way and derive many properties of different stellar objects. In this work we seek to derive simultaneously stellar and wind parameters of massive stars. To model the data we use the radiative transport code Fastwind with the hydrodynamic solutions derived using our stationary code Hydwind as input, instead of the β-law. Then, ISOSCELES, our grid of stellar atmosphere and hydrodynamic models of massive stars, is used to derive the physical properties of the observed spectra through spectral line fittings. This quantitative spectroscopic analysis provide an estimation about the line–force parameters, whose theoretical calculations are complex. In addition, we expect to confirm that the hydrodynamic δ-slow solutions, describe quite reliable the radiation line-driven winds of A and late B supergiant stars and, at the same time, explain disagreements between observational data and theoretical models for the Wind–Momentum Luminosity Relationship (WLR).

We present the first results of simultaneous observations of the 6.035 GHz exited OH and 6.7 GHz methanol masers toward a sample of 10 high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs), observed using eMERLIN in 2020 and 2022. Searching for the coincidence and avoidance of these two maser transitions, we estimate physical conditions around central protostars. We identify Zeeman-splittings of the OH emission and determine the strength of the magnetic field. Combining it with linear polarization, we derive the magnetic field structure in these high-mass star-forming regions.

Recent numerical studies have shown that the entire solar system is permeated with arch-like structures originating from all planets. Particles placed on such arches experience planetary close encounters after only one or few orbital revolutions. In this work, we are interested how thece arches, which we associate to encounter manifolds of Jupiter, appear in three dimensions for higher inclinations.

Our results show that about 0.5% of the observed domain [a, e, i] = [2 AU, 11.5 AU] × [0, 0.7] × [0°, 90°] is covered by the manifolds. For inclinations up to ∼5°, the arch-like structures are almost unchanged compared to those initially observed in the orbital plane of Jupiter. At higher inclinations, the number of encounter orbits rapidly decreases to narrow domains where the manifolds stretch up to inclinations of 90° (and above) in a very steep manner.

The Impact Monitoring (IM) of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) is a fundamental part of the planetary defense strategy. Current NEO IM systems (Aegis, NEODyS and Sentry) scan the Confidence Region (CR) of each observed object looking for Virtual Impactors (VIs) with a time horizon of about 100 years. This procedure is performed regardless of the uncertainty with which the orbit of the object is known, and without considering whether a scattering encounter is present in the propagation time span. In view of the likely future increase of the IM workload due to higher future NEO discovery rates, it might be more reasonable to adapt the predictability horizon of the impacts to each object, taking into account the orbit uncertainty and the close encounters experienced. In this paper we discuss the problem of estimating a reasonable predictability horizon when multiple close encounters are present and start to address the problem proposing a formal mathematical definition of scattering encounter.

In the last 20 years a small group of 6.7GHz methanol maser sources displaying periodic variability have been identified. This variability is thought to reflect local processes linked to star formation. A number of models have been proposed e.g. colliding wind binary, protostellar pulsation, accretion on binary system. Recent studies of known sources as well as non-periodic flaring masers suggest an episodic accretion as a driving mechanism. We present the results of VLBI observation program aimed at studying known periodic methanol maser sources. High resolution maps of emission, source morphology and evolution in time will be discussed. Those results will help us fully understand the nature of maser periodicity in star forming regions.

We have collected a database of more than 43,000 spectra of atmospheres of massive stars. These spectra have been generated with the CMFGEN code of Hillier & Miller (1998) by systematically varying stellar parameters: effective temperature, luminosity, metallicity and mass loss rate for stars from 9 to 120 solar masses (Zsargó et al. 2020) In this work we present a web-based platform for accessing the database. The platform allows an online comparison between an observed and a synthetic spectrum to quickly assess the stellar and wind parameters. The platform will be available without cost to the astronomical community and will be hosted on servers shared between Mexican Universities.

Long-term monitoring observations of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers by Hitachi 32-m operated by Ibaraki University, which are named as “the Ibaraki 6.7 GHz Methanol Maser Monitor (iMet)”, have revealed that the periods of the flux variability of 6.7 GHz methanol masers in the five high-mass star-forming regions G05.900-0.430, G06.795-0.257, G10.472+0.027, G12.209-0.102 and G13.657-0.599 are over 1000 days. These periods are approximately twice the longest known period of 6.7 GHz methanol masers of 668 days for G196.45-1.68. The facts that the flux variation patterns show symmetric sine curves and that the luminosity of the central protostar and periods of maser flux variation are consistent with the expected period-luminosity (PL) relation suggest that the mechanism of maser flux variability of G05.900-0.430, G10.472+0.027 and G12.209-0.102 can be explained by protostellar pulsation instability. From the period-luminosity relation, central stars of these three sources are expected to be very high-mass protostars with a mass of : ∼40 M⊚ and a mass accretion rate of : ∼2×10-2 M⊚yr-1. On the other hand, G06.795-0.257 and G13.657-0.599 have luminosities that are an order of magnitude smaller than that expected from PL relation, and the variation patterns are intermittent, suggesting a variation mechanism of these sources originated from binary system.

Close-in planets undergo strong tidal effects with their host stars that modify their spins and orbits. Adopting a Maxwell rheology, it has been shown that for the 5/2 and 7/2 spin-orbit resonances, the obliquity of these planets can stabilise at a high value. Here, we show that these high obliquity metastable states can also be observed for the same spin-orbit resonances considering the Andrade rheology.

We present Color Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs) created by using our database of 43,340 synthetic CMFGEN spectra. For each calculated spectra we measure the absolute flux by Johnson and Gaia photometry filters and build synthetic CMDs.

We compare published solutions for the rotation angle W(t) which describes the location of the prime meridian of Mars with respect to the ICRF equator in IAU recommendations. If the model for W includes a very long period term, we transform it into a quadratic polynomial with updated epoch value and rate, resulting in a difference in the mean epoch value up to 200 km. The mean and true epoch rotation angles are about 800 mas (13 m) apart in J2000 and should not be confused with each other in order to accurately locate the prime meridian. We identify two groups of radio-science solutions for W, which can be distinguished by the prime meridian location they used as a priori that differ from each other by about 100 m at J2000.

Single-dish observations at centimeter wavelengths have suggested that the Sgr B2 molecular cloud at the Galactic Center hosts weak maser emission from several large molecules. Here, we present the interferometric observations of the Class I methanol (CH3OH) maser at 84 GHz, the methanimine (CH2NH) maser at 5.29 GHz, and the methylamine (CH2NH2) maser at 4.36 GHz toward Sgr B2 North (N). We use a Bayesian approach to quantitatively assess the observed masing spectral profiles and the excitation conditions. By comparing the spatial origin and extent of maser emission from several molecular species, we find that the new maser transitions have a close spatial relationship with the Class I masers, which suggests a similar collisional pumping mechanism.

B supergiants (BSGs) lie on the cool end of line-driven wind regime, such that the study of their atmospheres can help us to understand the physics of line-driven winds. So far key features of their spectra, especially in the UV region, could not be reproduced consistently with atmosphere models. This represents a significant gap in our knowledge of their physical properties and behavior, which is particularly striking for BSGs on the cool side of the Bi-Stability Jump (cooler than B1). To address this problem, we analysed a sample of Galactic cool BSGs, with sufficient UV and optical coverage. None of our targets are detected in X-rays with only upper limits existing for some of them.