We summarize here recent work in identifying and characterizing red supergiants (RSGs) in the galaxies of the Local Group.

EUV and X-ray radiation emitted from wind-embedded shocks can affect the ionization balance in the outer atmospheres of massive stars, and can also be the mechanism responsible for producing highly ionized atoms detected in the wind UV spectra. To investigate these processes, we implemented the emission from wind-embedded shocks and related physics into our atmosphere/spectrum synthesis code FASTWIND. We also account for the high energy absorption of the cool wind, by adding important K-shell opacities. Various tests justfying our approach have been described by Carneiro+(2016, A&A 590, A88).

In particular, we studied the impact of X-ray emission on the ionization balance of important elements. In almost all the cases, the lower ionization stages (O iv, N iv, P v) are depleted and the higher stages (N v, O v, O vi) become enhanced. Moreover, also He lines (in particular He ii 1640 and He ii 4686) can be affected as well.

Finally, we carried out an extensive discussion of the high-energy mass absorption coefficient, κν, regarding its spatial variation and dependence on T eff. We found that (i) the approximation of a radially constant κν can be justified for r ⩾ 1.2R * and λ ⩽ 18 Å, and also for many models at longer wavelengths. (ii) In order to estimate the actual value of this quantity, however, the He ii background needs to be considered from detailed modeling.

Over the past two decades a clear relation between Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and some broad-lined Type Ic Supernovae (SNe) has been observed. The use of spectropolarimetry allows us to directly probe the 3D geometry of the unresolved ejecta of SNe, which can help us better understand the physics of their explosion and the SN-GRB connection. We present 7 epochs of spectropolarimetry of the broad-lined Type Ic SN 2014ad and highlight its similarities with SN 1998bw.

Linking core-collapse SNe to their stellar progenitors is a major ongoing challenge. To date, H rich Type IIP SNe have been shown to come from red supergiants, while there is increasing evidence that the majority of stripped envelope SNe come from binary systems. The first candidates for failed SNe, where a massive star collapses to form a black hole without a bright optical display have been identified, while the range of outbursts and eruptions from pre-SN stars are just beginning to be revealed.

Over the last decade, tremendous strides have been achieved in our understanding of magnetism in main sequence hot stars. In particular, the statistical occurrence of their surface magnetism has been established (~10%) and the field origin is now understood to be fossil. However, fundamental questions remain: how do these fossil fields evolve during the post-main sequence phases, and how do they influence the evolution of hot stars from the main sequence to their ultimate demise? Filling the void of known magnetic evolved hot (OBA) stars, studying the evolution of their fossil magnetic fields along stellar evolution, and understanding the impact of these fields on the angular momentum, rotation, mass loss, and evolution of the star itself, is crucial to answering these questions, with far reaching consequences, in particular for the properties of the precursors of supernovae explosions and stellar remnants. In the framework of the BRITE spectropolarimetric survey and LIFE project, we have discovered the first few magnetic hot supergiants. Their longitudinal surface magnetic field is very weak but their configuration resembles those of main sequence hot stars. We present these first observational results and propose to interpret them at first order in the context of magnetic flux conservation as the radius of the star expands with evolution. We then also consider the possible impact of stellar structure changes along evolution.

The explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae is a long-standing problem in stellar astrophysics. We briefly outline the main contenders for a solution and review recent efforts to model core-collapse supernova explosions by means of multi-dimensional simulations. Focusing on the neutrino-driven mechanism, we summarize currents efforts to predict supernova explosion and remnant properties.

I am reporting on our team's progress in investigating fundamental properties of convective shells in the deep stellar interior during advanced stages of stellar evolution. We have performed a series of 3D hydrodynamic simulations of convection in conditions similar to those in the O-shell burning phase of massive stars. We focus on characterizing the convective boundary and the mixing of material across this boundary. Results from 7683 and 15363 grids are encouragingly similar (typically within 20%). Several global quantities, including the rate of mass entrainment at the convective boundary and the driving luminosity, are related by scaling laws. We investigate the effect of several of our assumptions, including the treatment of the nuclear burning driving the convection or that of neutrino cooling. The burning of the entrained material from above the convection zone could have important implications for pre-supernova nucleosynthesis.

We gathered a multiwavelength dataset of two well-known LBVs. We found a complex mass-loss, with evidence of variability, such as has been seen previously. In addition, our data reveal signatures of collimated stellar winds. We propose a new scenario for these two stars where the nebula shaping is influenced by the presence of a companion star and/or fast rotation.

Most massive stars are so distant that their angular diameters are too small for direct resolution. However, the observational situation is now much more favorable, thanks to new opportunities available with optical/IR long-baseline interferometry. The Georgia State University Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy Array at Mount Wilson Observatory is a six-telescope instrument with a maximum baseline of 330 meters, which is capable of resolving stellar disks with diameters as small as 0.2 milliarcsec. The distant stars are no longer out of range, and many kinds of investigations are possible. Here we summarize a number of studies involving angular diameter measurements and effective temperature estimates for OB stars, binary and multiple stars (including the σ Orionis system), and outflows in Luminous Blue Variables. An enlarged visitors program will begin in 2017 that will open many opportunities for new programs in high angular resolution astronomy.

The WR stellar population can be distinguished, at least partially, from other stellar populations by broad-band IR colour selection. We present the use of a machine learning classifier to quantitatively improve the selection of Galactic Wolf-Rayet (WR) candidates. These methods are used to separate the other stellar populations which have similar IR colours. We show the results of the classifications obtained by using the 2MASS J, H and K photometric bands, and the Spitzer/IRAC bands at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0μm. The k-Nearest Neighbour method has been used to select Galactic WR candidates for observational follow-up. A few candidates have been spectroscopically observed. Preliminary observations suggest that a detection rate of 50% can easily be achieved.

Blue supergiant stars of B and A spectral types are amongst the visually brightest non-transient astronomical objects. Their intrinsic brightness makes it possible to obtain high quality optical spectra of these objects in distant galaxies, enabling the study not only of these stars in different environments, but also to use them as tools to probe their host galaxies. Quantitative analysis of their optical spectra provide tight constraints on their evolution in a wide range of metallicities, as well as on the present-day chemical composition, extinction laws and distances to their host galaxies. We review in this contribution recent results in this field.

Massive stars are intrinsically rare and therefore present a challenge to understand from a statistical perspective, especially within the Milky Way. We recently conducted follow-up observations to the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey that were designed to detect more than 10,000 emission line stars, including WRs, by targeting regions in M31 previously known to host large numbers of young, massive clusters and very young stellar populations. Because of the existing PHAT data, we are able to derive an effective temperature, bolarimetric luminosity, and extinction for each of our detected stars. We report on preliminary results of the massive star population of our dataset and discuss how our results compare to previous studies of massive stars in M31.

In 2006, the Of?p star HD191612 became the second O-star where a magnetic field was discovered. It provided a benchmark to understand the Of?p phenomenon as a whole. Ten years later, an X-ray monitoring performed at high-resolution reveals the behaviour of the hottest magnetospheric plasma: it is located at ~ 2R ⊙, hot but not extreme (log(T) ~ 7), producing unshifted lines, and displaying a very repetitive variability. A direct comparison with simulations yields an overall good agreement, with only a few further improvements needed.

Massive stars like company. Here, we provide a brief overview of progresses made over the last 5 years by a number of medium and large surveys. These results provide new insights on the observed and intrinsic multiplicity properties of main sequence massive stars and on the initial conditions for their future evolution. They also bring new interesting constraints on the outcome of the massive star formation process.

SN 1978K is the oldest-known Type IIn supernova, and one of the closest. We report new radio observations at high frequency and spatial resolution. SN 1978K has been detected at 34 and 94 GHz with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, while Very Long Baseline Interferometry at 8.4 GHz has allowed us to derive the past average expansion velocity, which indicates significant deceleration as the blast wave interacts with the dense circumstellar medium.

A very active area of research in the field of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) is the study of their progenitors and the links with different subtypes. Direct identification using pre- and post-SN images is a powerful method but it can only be applied to the most nearby events. An alternative method is the hydrodynamical modeling of SN light curves and expansion velocities, which can serve to characterize the progenitor (e.g. mass and radius) and the explosion itself (e.g. explosion energy and radioactive yields). This latter methodology is particularly powerful when combined with stellar evolution calculations. We review our current understanding of the properties of normal core-collapse SNe based chiefly on these two methods.

We obtained VLT/X-shooter spectra of twelve candidate young massive stars previously selected by Hanson et al. (1997) in the giant Hii region M17. An analysis of their spectra using FASTWIND models (Puls et al. 2005) shows that they span a mass range of 6 - 20 M⊙. We identify the presence of gaseous and dusty disks around six sources based on emission lines in the spectrum and infrared continuum excess.

Large magnetometric surveys have contributed to the detection of an increasing number of magnetic massive stars, and to the recognition of a population of magnetic massive stellar objects with distinct properties. Among these, NGC 1624-2 possesses the largest magnetic field of any O-type star; such a field confines the stellar wind into a circumstellar magnetosphere, which can be probed using observations at different wavelength regimes. Recent optical and X-ray observations suggest that NGC 1624-2’s magnetosphere is much larger than that of any other magnetic O star. By modeling the variations of UV resonance lines, we can constrain its velocity structure. Furthermore, recent spectropolarimetric observations raise the possibility of a more complex field topology than previously expected. Putting all of these multi-wavelength constraints together will allow us to paint a consistent picture of NGC 1624-2 and its surprising behavior, giving us valuable insight into the very nature of massive star magnetospheres.

In luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs), the infall of gas into the central regions strongly enhances the star formation rate (SFR), especially within the nuclear regions which have also large amounts of interstellar dust. Within these regions SFRs of several tens to hundreds of solar masses per year ought to give rise to core-collapse supernova (SN) rates up to 1-2 SNe every year per galaxy. However, the current SN surveys, almost exclusively being ground-based seeing-limited and working at optical wavelengths, have been blinded by the interstellar dust and contrast issues therein. Thus the properties and rates of SNe in the nuclear environments of the most prolific SN factories in the Universe have remained largely unexplored. Here, we present results from high angular resolution observations of nearby LIRGs at infrared and radio wavelengths much less affected by the effects of extinction and lack of resolution hampering the optical searches.