Grants related:
General
This project aims at the searching, observation and analysis of massive stars in nearby galaxies to provide a solid empirical ground to understand their physical properties as a function of those key parameters that gobern their evolution (i.e. mass, spin, metallicity, mass loss, and binary interaction).
Massive stars are central objects to Astrophysics. Born with at least 8 solar masses, their evolution proceeds very fast, yielding large amounts of nuclear processed material by means of strong stellar winds (loosing up to 90% of their initial mass before facing a violent death as Supernova) and emitting intense radiation fields. Despite their scarcity, massive stars play a decisive role in many aspects of the evolution of the Cosmos (e.g. they are primary agents of the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies and have been proposed as key agents in the reionization of the Universe). Along their complex evolution, they are associated with the most extreme stellar objects (O-type and WR stars; blue and red supergiants; luminous blue variables; massive stellar black holes, neutron stars and magnetars; massive X- and gamma-ray binaries). They are also the origin of newly studied phenomena such as long-duration GRBs or the recently detected gravitational waves produced by a merger of two massive black holes or neutron stars. From a practical perspective, massive stars have become invaluable indicators of present-day abundances and distances in external galaxies, even beyond the Local Group. In addition, the interpretation of the light emitted by H II regions and starburst galaxies relies on our knowledge of the effect that the strong ionizing radiation emitted by these hot stellar objects produces on the surrounding interstellar medium.
This project aims at the searching, observation and analysis of massive stars in nearby galaxies to provide a solid empirical ground to understand their physical properties as a function of those key parameters that gobern their evolution (i.e. mass, spin, metallicity, mass loss, and binary interaction). In this endeavour, the project benefits from best quality observations obtained with the last generation of facilities available at the Canary and the ESO observatories, as well as other observations of interest provided from space missions such as Gaia, HST, IUE and TESS. Samples with a few to several hundreds of individual massive stars in different evolutionary stages and metallicity environments are then analyzed with the last generation of stellar atmosphere codes and optimized tools for the quantitative spectroscopic analysis of massive stars to extract as much empirical information as possible about stellar+wind parameters, surface abundances and spectroscopic variability.
The main research lines presently active in the project are:
- the observation and analysis of large samples of massive OB stars in the Milky Way;
- the exploration of the hidden population of massive stars in the Milky Way;
- the searching, observation and analysis of massive extragalactic stars, with special emphasis in those found in low metallicity galaxies;
- the development and use of model atmospheres, model atoms and numerical tools for the analysis of massive stars.
Members
Results
Highlights 2020
1. The IACOB project presents empirical evidence of the scarcity of Galactic O-type stars with masses 40-80 Msol close to the theoretical zero age main sequence. Th reason of this result could be indicating that the accretion rate of mass during the stars formation process of massive stars could be lower than traditionally considered.
2. Presented empirical evidence of the existence of multiple star forming bursts in the Cygnus OB2 massive star formation region. The way is paved for the first in-depth study of the massive star population of the Cygus-X region in the Milky Way benefiting from the WEAVE survey.
3. Studied membership and kinematical properties in a sample of 80 blue and red supergiants in the PerOB1 association by using high resolution multi-epoch spectroscopy and Gaia astrometry data. A forthcoming spectroscopic study of this sample of star will provide new empirical clues to improve our understanding of massive stars evolution.
4. The MAMSIE-IACOB collaboration presents first in-depth study of the pulsational propeties of a large sample of massive Galactic OB-type stars by means of the combined study of high-resolution spectroscopic data from HERMES, FIES and SONG and high cadence photometric data provide by the TESS mission.
5. Estimated that the binarity fraction for evolved high-mass stars (red supergiants) should be at least 0.15±0.03.
6. Identified the first strong candidate to be a super-AGB star in the Galaxy (VX Sgr).
Scientific activity
Related publications
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The chemical composition of the Orion star forming region. III. C, N, Ne, Mg, and Fe abundances in B-type stars revisitedContext. Early B-type stars are invaluable indicators of elemental abundances of their birth environments. In contrast to the surrounding neutral interstellar matter (ISM) and H ii regions, their chemical composition is unaffected by depletion onto dust grains and the derivation of different abundances from recombination and collisional lines. InNieva, M.-F. et al.
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82011 -
The chemical composition of the Orion star forming region. I. Homogeneity of O and Si abundances in B-type starsContext. Recent accurate abundance analyses of B-type main sequence stars in the solar vicinity has shown that abundances derived from these stellar objects are more homogeneous and metal-rich than previously thought. Aims: We investigate whether the inhomogeneity of abundances previously found in B-type stars in the Ori OB1 association is realSimón-Díaz, S.
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22010 -
NGC 1624-2: a slowly rotating, X-ray luminous Of?cp star with an extraordinarily strong magnetic fieldThis paper presents a first observational investigation of the faint Of?p star NGC 1624-2, yielding important new constraints on its spectral and physical characteristics, rotation, magnetic field strength, X-ray emission and magnetospheric properties. Modelling the spectrum and spectral energy distribution, we conclude that NGC 1624-2 is a mainWade, G. A. et al.
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92012 -
Erratum: The VLT-FLAMES survey of massive stars: atmospheric parameters and rotational velocity distributions for B-type stars in the Magellanic CloudsWe correct the estimates of the dispersions in the rotational velocities for early-type stars in our Galaxy (Dufton et al. 2006, A&A, 457, 265) and the Magellanic Clouds (Hunter et al. 2008, A&A, 479, 541). The corrected values are π1/4 (i.e. approximately 33%) larger than those published in the original papers.Hunter, I. et al.
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92009 -
Detection of frequency spacings in the young O-type binary HD 46149 from CoRoT photometryAims: Using the CoRoT space based photometry of the O-type binary HD 46149, stellar atmospheric effects related to rotation can be separated from pulsations, because they leave distinct signatures in the light curve. This offers the possibility of characterising and exploiting any pulsations seismologically. Methods: Combining high-quality spaceDegroote, P. et al.
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92010 -
An Interferometric and Spectroscopic Analysis of the Multiple Star System HD 193322The star HD 193322 is a remarkable multiple system of massive stars that lies at the heart of the cluster Collinder 419. Here we report on new spectroscopic observations and radial velocities of the narrow-lined component Ab1 which we use to determine its orbital motion around a close companion Ab2 (P = 312 days) and around a distant third star Aaten Brummelaar, Theo A. et al.
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72011 -
A Third Massive Star Component in the σ Orionis AB SystemWe report on the detection of a third massive star component in the σ Orionis AB system, traditionally considered as a binary system. The system has been monitored by the IACOB Spectroscopic Survey of Northern Massive Stars program, obtaining 23 high-resolution FIES@NOT spectra with a time span of ~2.5 years. The analysis of the radial velocitySimón-Díaz, S. et al.
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112011 -
The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula SurveyThe Tarantula survey is an ESO Large Programme which has obtained multi-epochs spectroscopy of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Dor region in the Large Magelanic Cloud. Here we briefly describe the main drivers of the survey and the observational material derived.Markova, N. et al.
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02011 -
The Ultraviolet Spectrum and Physical Properties of the Mass Donor Star in HD 226868 = Cygnus X-1We present an examination of high-resolution, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy from Hubble Space Telescope of the photospheric spectrum of the O-supergiant in the massive X-ray binary HD 226868 = Cyg X-1. We analyzed this and ground-based optical spectra to determine the effective temperature and gravity of the O9.7 Iab supergiant. Using non-LTE, lineCaballero-Nieves, S. M. et al.
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82009 -
The stellar population of the star-forming region G61.48+0.09Context: We present the results of a near-infrared photometric and spectroscopic study of the star-forming region G61.48+0.09. Aims: The purpose of this study is to characterize the stellar content of the cluster and to determine its distance, extinction, age, and mass. Methods: The stellar population was studied by using color-magnitude diagramsMarín-Franch, A. et al.
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82009 -
The Cool Supergiant Population of the Massive Young Star Cluster RSGC1We present new high-resolution near-IR spectroscopy and OH maser observations to investigate the population of cool luminous stars of the young massive Galactic cluster RSGC1. Using the 2.293 μm CO band-head feature, we make high-precision radial velocity measurements of 16 of the 17 candidate red supergiants (RSGs) identified by Figer et al. WeDavies, Ben et al.
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42008 -
Stellar Wind Variations during the X-Ray High and Low States of Cygnus X-1We present results from Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectroscopy of the massive X-ray and black hole binary system, HD 226868 = Cyg X-1. The spectra were obtained at both orbital conjunction phases in 2002 and 2003, when the system was in the X-ray high/soft state. The UV stellar wind lines suffer large reductions in absorption strength whenGies, D. R. et al.
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52008 -
New very massive stars in Cygnus OB2Context: The compact association Cygnus OB2 is known to contain a large population of massive stars, but its total mass is currently a matter of debate. While recent surveys have uncovered large numbers of OB stars in the area around Cyg OB2, detailed study of the optically brightest among them suggests that most are not part of the associationNegueruela, I. et al.
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82008 -
Astrophysical Parameters of LS 2883 and Implications for the PSR B1259-63 Gamma-ray BinaryOnly a few binary systems with compact objects display TeV emission. The physical properties of the companion stars represent basic input for understanding the physical mechanisms behind the particle acceleration, emission, and absorption processes in these so-called gamma-ray binaries. Here we present high-resolution and high signal-to-noiseNegueruela, Ignacio et al.
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52011 -
The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. III. A very massive star in apparent isolation from the massive cluster R136VFTS 682 is located in an active star-forming region, at a projected distance of 29 pc from the young massive cluster R136 in the Tarantula Nebula of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was previously reported as a candidate young stellar object, and more recently spectroscopically revealed as a hydrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet (WN5h) star. Our aim is to obtainBestenlehner, J. M. et al.
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62011 -
The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. II. R139 revealed as a massive binary systemWe report the discovery that R139 in 30 Doradus is a massive spectroscopic binary system. Multi-epoch optical spectroscopy of R139 was obtained as part of the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey, revealing a double-lined system. The two components are of similar spectral types; the primary exhibits strong C III λ4650 emission and is classified as an O6.5Taylor, W. D. et al.
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62011 -
The VLT-FLAMES Survey of Massive StarsThe VLT-FLAMES Survey of Massive Stars was an ESO Large Programme to understand rotational mixing and stellar mass loss in different metallicity environments, in order to better constrain massive star evolution. We gathered high-quality spectra of over 800 stars in the Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. A sample of this size is unprecedentedEvans, Chris et al.
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32008 -
The nature of HH 223 from long-slit spectroscopyContext: HH 223 is a knotty, undulating nebular emission of ˜30 arcsec length found in the L723 star-forming region. It lies projected onto the largest blueshifted lobe of the quadrupolar CO outflow powered by a low-mass YSO system embedded in the core of L723. Aims: We analysed the physical conditions and kinematics along HH 223 with the aim ofLópez, R. et al.
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52009 -
The Counterjet of HH 30: New Light on Its Binary Driving SourceWe present new [S II] images of the Herbig-Haro (HH) 30 jet and counterjet observed in 2006, 2007, and 2010 that, combined with previous data, allowed us to measure with improved accuracy the positions and proper motions of the jet and counterjet knots. Our results show that the motion of the knots is essentially ballistic, with the exception ofEstalella, Robert et al.
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82012 -
Spectroscopic and physical parameters of Galactic O-type stars. I. Effects of rotation and spectral resolving power in the spectral classification of dwarfs and giantsContext. The modern-era spectral classification of O-stars relies on either the Walborn or the Conti-Mathys scheme. Since both of these approaches have been developed using low-quality photographic data, their application to high-quality digital data might not be straightforward and be hampered by problems and complications that have not yet beenMarkova, N. et al.
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62011
