News: Registration is now open! Abstract submission deadline: 10 March 2015

In the last decade, several spectroscopic surveys of Galactic OB stars have been conducted independently by different groups (GOSSS, OWN, IACOB, CAFE-BEANS, NoMaDs, GES, MiMeS, BOB). The scientific exploitation of this unique observational material, using the most modern tools, is currently under way and will without any doubt quantitatively change our view of the properties (temperature, gravities, abundances...) and evolution of massive stars. However, the picture will not be complete until we have access to accurate distances (hence being able to compute luminosities, stellar radii, masses, and ages).

The Gaia mission will provide the needed key to open the frontiers of a new era in the study of Galactic OB stars. Successfully launched in 2013 december 19, the first data release (not yet including distances) is planned for summer 2016.

Hence time is ripe to:

(a) establish synergies between the various on-going spectroscopic surveys of Galactic OB stars;

(b) discuss the best strategy to share all available observational information about Galactic OB stars in preparation for the Gaia era;

(c) identify the best tools to extract information about rotation, stellar and wind parameters and abundances from large samples of Galactic OB stars; and

(d) identify the interplay between current spectroscopic surveys and Gaia in the context of the understanding of massive stars properties and evolution.

This special session aims at gathering experts in observations, analysis, and modelling of massive OB stars and key speakers involved in the Gaia mission with this scope.

Programme

• Modern tools and techniques for the investigation of Galactic OB stars
• Past, on-going, and future surveys of Galactic OB stars: getting ready for Gaia
• Open questions in our knowledge of Galactic OB stars in the Gaia context

Invited speakers

• Y. Frémat (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
• J. Maíz Apellániz (Astrobiology Centre, Spain)
• G. Meynet (University of Geneva, Switzerland)
• J. Puls ( Munich University Observatory, Germany)
• F.N.R. Schneider (University of Oxford, UK)
• M.A. Urbaneja (University of Innsbruck, Austria)

Scientific organisers
S. Simón-Díaz (IAC, Spain) & F. Martins (LUPM, France)

Contact
ssimon @ iac.es