The multiwavelength view of hot, massive stars

Massive stars are certainly among the most fascinating objects of stellar populations. They trigger many astrophysical processes from star formation to the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium. Yet, their properties are still not fully understood and these objects are therefore at the core of many ongoing research activities. With the advent of new, high-performance, ground-based and space-borne facilities, the multi-wavelength investigation of hot, massive stars has definitely been boosted over the last decade. It is indeed nowadays possible to study these objects over a wide part of the electromagnetic spectrum, all the way from radio waves to gamma-rays. Motivated by this fact, we decided to organize a conference devoted to this topic in the framework of the well-established series of Liege International Astrophysical Colloquia (LIAC). The resonance in the community was extremely positive, with many proposals for high-quality contributions. During the week of 12 - 16 July 2010, 138 astrophysicists, from institutes in 21 countries all over the world, gathered in Liege to discuss how the multi-wavelength approach has revolutionized their research on massive stars. The colloquium was organized into five thematic sessions, and the present proceedings are organized along the same chapters: (1) stellar winds, diagnostics across the electromagnetic spectrum; (2) massive star formation, confronting theory and observation; (3) evolution and interaction of massive stars with their environment; (4) future instrumentation and its application to massive star research; (5) massive binaries: interaction and evolution