This session dealt with the circumstellar gas surrounding active OB stars, and the discussion broadly focused on disks, wind morphology and structures, X-ray emission, and mass loss rates.

We present results from Monte-Carlo simulations of linear polarization in clumped OB-star winds. We find that previous single-scattering models of clumped winds have overestimated the degree of polarization, even in cases where individual clumps are optically thin. An application to P Cygni suggests the star's wind is more fragmented than previously thought.

A magnetic field and rotational line profile variability (lpv) is found in the He-weak star HR 2949. The field measured from metallic lines varies in a clearly non-sinusoidal way, and shows a phase lag relative to the morphologically similar He i equivalent width variations. The surface abundance patterns are strong and complex, and visible even in the hydrogen lines.

We present Rigid Field Hydrodynamic simulations of the magnetosphere of σ Ori E. We find that the X-ray emission from the star's magnetically confined wind shocks is very sensitive to the assumed mass-loss rate. To compare the simulations against the measured X-ray emission, we first disentangle the star from its recently discovered late-type companion using Chandra HRC-I observations. This then allows us to place an upper limit on the mass-loss rate of the primary, which we find to be significantly smaller than previously imagined.

The Magnetism in Massive Stars (MiMeS) Project is a consensus collaboration among many of the foremost international researchers of the physics of hot, massive stars, with the basic aim of understanding the origin, evolution and impact of magnetic fields in these objects. At the time of writing, MiMeS Large Programs have acquired over 950 high-resolution polarised spectra of about 150 individual stars with spectral types from B5-O4, discovering new magnetic fields in a dozen hot, massive stars. The quality of this spectral and magnetic matériel is very high, and the Collaboration is keen to connect with colleagues capable of exploiting the data in new or unforeseen ways. In this paper we review the structure of the MiMeS observing programs and report the status of observations, data modeling and development of related theory.

After briefly reviewing the theory behind the radiative line-driven winds of OB stars, I examine the processes that can generate structure in them; these include both intrinsic instabilities, and surface perturbations such as pulsation and rotation. I then delve into wind channeling and confinement by magnetic fields as a mechanism for forming longer-lived circumstellar structures. With a narrative that largely follows the historical progression of the field, I introduce the key insights and results that link the first detection of a magnetosphere, over three decades ago, to the recent direct measurement of magnetic braking in a number of active OB stars.

We report on the detection of a strong, organized magnetic field in the helium-variable early B-type star HR 7355 using spectropolarimetric data obtained with ESPaDOnS on CFHT by the MiMeS large program. We also present results from new V-band differential photometry obtained with the CTIO 0.9m telescope. We investigate the longitudinal field, using a technique called Least-Squares Deconvolution (LSD), and the rotational period of HR 7355. These new observations strongly support the proposal that HR 7355 harbors a structured magnetosphere similar to that in the prototypical helium-strong star, σ Ori E.