The magnetic fields and magnetospheres of hot stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent observational tools and current understanding of magnetic fields and magnetospheres in hot massive stars, highlighting advances made possible by high-resolution spectropolarimetry and spectroscopy.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the latest observational techniques and findings related to magnetic fields and magnetospheres in hot stars.

Findings

Detection of magnetic fields in hot stars has improved with new spectropolarimeters.

Spectroscopy has been instrumental in studying magnetospheres.

Current knowledge indicates complex magnetic field structures in hot stars.

Abstract

Strong advances in direct evidence of magnetic fields in hot massive stars have been possible thanks to the new generation of high-resolution spectropolarimeters such as ESPaDOnS (on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope) or HARPSpol (on the 3.6m ESO telescope). UV and optical high-resolution spectroscopy has also been very useful to study the magnetospheres of massive stars. In this contribution I review the observing tools and our current knowledge concerning the detection and characterisation of the magnetic fields and magnetospheres in hot stars.