Outline of the school

The XXXVII Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics aims to combine a series of lectures on observational aspects of massive stars across different evolutionary stages – including their end products – with complementary sessions on the theoretical and modeling perspectives of stellar atmospheres, stellar winds, and the evolution of both single and binary systems. In addition, the WS will feature tutorials and hands-on sessions, enabling participants to gain practical experience with the most advanced techniques used by the massive-star community.

These sessions will provide postgraduate students with an integrated view of the field – from observations to models – ensuring that participants acquire not only a conceptual understanding of the physics of massive stars but also the practical skills to analyze and interpret real data. By benefitting from the IAC’s strong tradition and international leadership in stellar astrophysics, its proximity to world-class observatories, and its long-standing commitment to training the next generation of astrophysicists, the proposed WS will offer a unique and fertile environment for knowledge exchange. It will bring together experts and students at a moment when the synergy between observations, simulations, and multi-messenger data promises to redefine our understanding of massive stars – from their birth within molecular clouds to their final destinations as SNe and GW sources.

Main topics to be covered

Block 1: Observations

  • OB stars and red supergiants (optical/UV/IR)
  • Binary systems (including black hole binaries)
  • X-ray observations of massive stars and compact objects
  • Gravitational-wave sources and their progenitors
  • Supernovae and other transient phenomena

Block 2: Theory and Modelling:

  • Stellar atmopsheres
  • Stellar evolution (single and binary)
  • Population synthesis

Block 3: Tutorials and Hands-on Sessions

  • Modelling stellar atmospheres and stellar winds
  • Stellar structure and evolution modeling
  • Population synthesis for single and binary stars
  • Quantitative spectroscopic analysis of single and binary systems
  • Photometric detection of black hole systems and massive binaries

The Winter School will take place in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) from Monday, 16 November to Friday, 27 November 2026. The lectures (in English) will take place during the working days and will all be 45-mins long + 15-mins of discussion. The majority of them will take place during the morning. There will also be a series of tutorials, mostly concentrated after lunch. Links to the material used by the lecturers, as well as videos of the lectures, will be made available on the website of the school. Visits to the Teide Observatory in Tenerife will be scheduled as part of the activities on Wednesday, 18 November. A visit to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma will be offered optionally on Saturday, 21 November.

Those interested in attending the school should apply following the instructions provided in the application page by Monday, 15 June 2026. Selected candidates will be informed by late June / early July  2026.