Summary of IAU GA SpS5 - III. Matter ejection and feedback

TL;DR

This paper reviews how infrared observations of circumstellar environments around massive stars enhance the discovery and characterization of nebulae, improving understanding of stellar feedback processes.

Contribution

It highlights recent IR observational advances that reveal new nebulae and provide insights into the feedback mechanisms of massive stars.

Findings

IR helps discover previously unknown nebulae.

IR characterizes nebular features around massive stars.

IR facilities improve understanding of stellar feedback.

Abstract

The last part of SpS5 dealt with the circumstellar environment. Structures are indeed found around several types of massive stars, such as blue and red supergiants, as well as WRs and LBVs. As shown in the last years, the potential of IR for their study is twofold: first, IR can help discover many previously unknown nebulae, leading to the identification of new massive stars as their progenitors; second, IR can help characterize the nebular features. Current and new IR facilities thus pave the way to a better understanding of the feedback from massive stars.