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Multiplicity is a ubiquitous characteristic of massive stars. Multiple systems offer us a unique observational constraint on the formation of high-mass systems. Herschel 36 A is a massive triple system composed of a close binary (Ab1-Ab2) and an outer component (Aa). We measured the orbital motion of the outer component of Herschel 36 A using infrared interferometry with the AMBER and PIONIER instruments of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer. Our immediate aims are to constrain the masses of all components of this system and to determine if the outer orbit is co-planar with the inner one. Reported spectroscopic data for all two components of this system and our interferometric data allow us to derive full orbital solutions for the outer orbit Aa-Ab and the inner orbit Ab1-Ab2. For the first time, we derive the absolute masses of m Aa = 22.3 ± 1.7, m Ab1  = 20.5 ± 1.5, and m Ab2  = 12.5 ± 0.9 M⊙. Despite not being able to resolve the close binary components, we infer the inclination of their orbit by imposing the same parallax as the outer orbit. Inclinations derived from the inner and outer orbits imply a modest difference of about 22° between the orbital planes. We discuss this result and the formation of Herschel 36 A in the context of Core Accretion and Competitive Accretion models, which make different predictions regarding the statistic of the relative orbital inclinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The O9.7 V star HD 54879 is currently the only massive magnetic star whose magnetic field geometry and rotation period are not constrained. Over the last 3 yr, we gathered additional observations of this star, obtained using various instruments at several astronomical facilities, with the aim to constrain the rotation period and the magnetic field geometry. The new data include the first full Stokes vector observations with the Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument (PEPSI), installed at the Large Binocular Telescope. The acquired spectropolarimetric observations show a very slow magnetic field variability related to the extremely slow rotation of HD 54879, which is also indicated in a dynamical spectrum, displaying variability of the Hα line. The most intriguing result of our study is the discovery of differences in longitudinal magnetic field strengths measured using different least-squares deconvolution (LSD) masks containing lines belonging to different elements. It is the first time that such a differential analysis of the field strength in dependence of the used lines is carried out for a magnetic O-type star. Since the LSD Stokes  I profiles of the studied O, Si, and He line masks remain stable over all observing epochs, we conclude that the detection of different field strengths using lines belonging to these elements is related to the different formation depths, with the He lines formed much higher in the stellar atmosphere compared to the silicon and the oxygen lines, and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects. Our numerical magnetospherical model suggests the presence of enhanced gas density that fills the volume inside the field lines close to the star. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first FOcal Reducer low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS 2) spectropolarimetric observation of the longitudinal magnetic field of HD 54879 of the order of −600 G with a lower limit of the dipole strength of ∼2 kG dates back to 2014. Since then, observations showed a gradual decrease of the absolute value of the mean longitudinal magnetic field. In the course of the most recent monitoring of HD 54879 using FORS 2 spectropolarimetric observations from 2017 October to 2018 February, a longitudinal magnetic field strength change from about −300 G down to about −90 G was reported. A sudden increase of the absolute value of the mean longitudinal magnetic field and an accompanying spectral variability was detected on 2018 February 17. New FORS 2 spectropolarimetric data obtained from 2018 December to 2019 February confirm the very slow magnetic field variability, with the field decreasing from about 150 G to −100 G over 2 months. Such a slow magnetic field variability, related to the extremely slow rotation of HD 54879, is also confirmed using high-resolution High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher in polarimetric mode and Echelle SpectroPolarimetric Device for the Observation of Stars spectropolarimetry. The re-analysis of the FORS 2 polarimetric spectra from 2018 February indicates that the previously reported field increase and the change of the spectral appearance was caused by improper spectra extraction and wavelength calibration using observations obtained at an insufficient signal-to-noise ratio. The presented properties of HD 54879 are discussed in the context of the Of?p spectral classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]