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The evolution of massive stars is only partly understood. Observational constraints can be obtained from the study of massive stars located in young massive clusters. The ESO Public Survey VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) discovered several new clusters hosting massive stars (Borrissova et al . [1]). We derive the stellar parameters of all targets as well as surface abundances for a subset of them. For the cluster with the largest number of objects, we establish firmly that the WN and WC stars were initially more massive than the O stars still present in the cluster.

Context. Zeta Pup is the X-ray brightest O-type star of the sky. This object was regularly observed with the RGS instrument aboard XMM-Newton for calibration purposes, leading to an unprecedented set of high-quality spectra. Aims. We have previously reduced and extracted this data set and combined it into the most detailed high-resolution X-ray spectrum of any early-type star so far. Here we present the analysis of this spectrum accounting for the presence of structures in the stellar wind. Methods. For this purpose, we use our new modeling tool that allows fitting the entire spectrum with a multi-temperature plasma. We illustrate the impact of a proper treatment of the radial dependence of the X-ray opacity of the cool wind on the best-fit radial distribution of the temperature of the X-ray plasma. Results. The best fit of the RGS spectrum of Zeta Pup is obtained assuming no porosity. Four plasma components at temperatures between 0.10 and 0.69 keV are needed to adequately represent the observed spectrum. Whilst the hardest emission is concentrated between ~3 and 4 R*, the softer emission starts already at 1.5 R* and extends to the outer regions of the wind. Conclusions. The inferred radial distribution of the plasma temperatures agrees rather well with theoretical expectations. The mass- loss rate and CNO abundances corresponding to our best-fit model also agree quite well with the results of recent studies of Zeta Pup in the UV and optical domain., Comment: Accepted for publication in the A\&A 12 pages, 9 figures

Context: The ESO Public Survey "VISTA Variables in the V\'ia L\'actea" (VVV) provides deep multi-epoch infrared observations for an unprecedented 562 sq. degrees of the Galactic bulge, and adjacent regions of the disk. In this survey nearly 150 new open clusters and cluster candidates have been discovered. Aims: This is the second in a series of papers about young, massive open clusters observed using the VVV survey. We present the first study of six recently discovered clusters. These clusters contain at least one newly discovered Wolf-Rayet (WR) star. Methods: Following the methodology presented in the first paper of the series, wide-field, deep JHKs VVV observations, combined with new infrared spectroscopy, are employed to constrain fundamental parameters for a subset of clusters. Results: We affirm that the six studied stellar groups are real young (2-7 Myr) and massive (between 0.8 and 2.2 10^3 Msol) clusters. They are highly obscured (Av ~ 5-24 mag) and compact (1-2 pc). In addition to WR stars, two of the six clusters also contain at least one red supergiant star. We claim the discovery of 8 new WR stars, and 3 stars showing WR-like emission lines which could be classified WR or OIf. Preliminary analysis provides initial masses of ~30-50 Msol for the WR stars. Finally,we discuss the spiral structure of the Galaxy using as tracers the six new clusters together with the previously studied VVV clusters., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figurs, accepted in A&A

High-resolution X-ray spectra of O-type stars revealed less wind absorption than expected from smooth winds with conventional mass-loss rates. Various solutions have been proposed, including porous winds, optically thick clumps or an overall reduction of the mass-loss rates. The latter has a strong impact on the evolution of the star. Our final goal is to analyse high resolution X-ray spectra of O-type stars with a multi temperature plasma model in order to determine crucial wind parameters such as the mass loss rate, the CNO abundances and the X-ray temperature plasma distribution in the wind. In this context we are developing a modelling tool to calculate synthetic X-ray spectra. We present, here, the main ingredients and physics necessary for a such work. Our code uses the AtomDB emissivities to compute the intrinsic emissivity of the hot plasma as well as the CMFGEN model atmosphere code to evaluate the opacity of the cool wind. Following the comparison between two formalisms of stellar wind fragmentation, we introduce, for the first time in X-rays, the effects of a tenuous inter-clump medium. We then explore the quantitative impact of different model parameters on the X-ray spectra such as the position in the wind of the X-ray emitting plasma. For the first time, we show that the two formalisms of stellar wind fragmentation yield different results, although the differences for individual lines are small and can probably not be tested with the current generation of X-ray telescopes. As an illustration of our method, we compare various synthetic line profiles to the observed O VIII {\lambda} 18.97{\AA} line in the spectrum of {\zeta} Puppis. We illustrate how different combinations of parameters can actually lead to the same morphology of a single line, underlining the need to analyse the whole spectrum in a consistent way when attempting to constrain the parameters of the wind., Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ

Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are massive stars, in a transition phase, from being O-type stars and rapidly becoming Wolf-Rayet objects. LBVs possess powerful stellar winds, high luminosities and show photometric and spectroscopic variability. We present the stellar and wind parameters of He3-519 obtained by the modeling of UVES observations with the model atmosphere code CMFGEN. We compare our results to previous studies in order to find mid-time scale variability of the stellar parameters and finally, we use stellar evolution models to determine the evolutionary status of this star.