The magnetic fields and magnetospheres of 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.