X-ray emission from stars much more massive than the Sun was discovered only 35 years ago. Such stars drive fast stellar winds where shocks can develop, and it is commonly assumed that the X-rays emerge from the shock-heated plasma. Many massive stars additionally pulsate. However, hitherto it was neither theoretically predicted nor observed that these pulsations would affect their X-ray emission. All X-ray pulsars known so far are associated with degenerate objects, either neutron stars or white dwarfs. Here we report the discovery of pulsating X-rays from a non-degenerate object, the massive B-type star ξ1 CMa. This star is a variable of β Cep-type and has a strong magnetic field. Our observations with the X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM-Newton) telescope reveal X-ray pulsations with the same period as the fundamental stellar oscillations. This discovery challenges our understanding of stellar winds from massive stars, their X-ray emission and their magnetism.

We obtained X-ray XMM-Newton observations of the open cluster Berkeley 87 and the massive star-forming region (SFR) ON 2. In addition, archival infrared Spitzer Space Telescope observations were used to study the morphology of ON 2, to uncover young stellar objects, and to investigate their relationship with the X-ray sources. It is likely that the SFR ON 2 and Berkeley 87 are at the same distance, 1.23 kpc, and hence are associated. The XMM-Newton observations detected X-rays from massive stars in Berkeley 87 as well as diffuse emission from the SFR ON 2. The two patches of diffuse X-ray emission are encompassed in the shell-like H II region GAL 75.84+0.40 in the northern part of ON 2 and in the ON 2S region in the southern part of ON 2. The diffuse emission from GAL 75.84+0.40 suffers an absorption column equivalent to AV ≈ 28 mag. Its spectrum can be fitted either with a thermal plasma model at T ≳ 30 MK or by an absorbed power-law model with γ ≈ −2.6. The X-ray luminosity of GAL 75.84+0.40 is LX ≈ 6 × 1031 erg s−1. The diffuse emission from ON 2S is adjacent to the ultra-compact H II (UCH II) region Cygnus 2N, but does not coincide with it or with any other known UCH II region. It has a luminosity of LX ≈ 4 × 1031 erg s−1. The spectrum can be fitted with an absorbed power-law model with γ ≈ −1.4. We adopt the view of Turner & Forbes that the SFR ON 2 is physically associated with the massive star cluster Berkeley 87 hosting the WO-type star WR 142. We discuss different explanations for the apparently diffuse X-ray emission in these SFRs. These include synchrotron radiation, invoked by the co-existence of strongly shocked stellar winds and turbulent magnetic fields in the star-forming complex, cluster wind emission, or an unresolved population of discrete sources.

Cette thèse présente une étude des coeurs denses et massifs de deux régions de formation d'étoiles massives de notre Galaxie. J'utilise pour ce travail des observations Herschel-HOBYS de NGC 6334 et NGC 6357 complémentées par les sondages GLIMPSE, MIPSGAL, ATLASGAL, MALT90 ainsi que des observations SCUBA-2 et SIMBA. La vision multi-longueur d'onde m'a permis d'identifier spatialement les coeurs les plus denses des deux régions et d'extraire leur distribution spectrale d' énergie. J'ai modélisé l'émission des coeurs pour extraire leurs paramètres physiques et j'ai utilisé des données infrarouge, des catalogues de sources masers et radio, ainsi que des raies mol éculaires pour déterminer leur statut évolutif. Mon travail présente l'extraction des coeurs denses et massifs ainsi que l'analyse de leur distribution spatiale et de leurs paramètres physiques dans le contexte évolutif de la formation d'étoiles massives dans les régions NGC 6334 et NGC 6357. / This thesis aims at studying the massive dense cores found inside two regions of high-mass star formation within our Galaxy. I make use of Herschel observations of NGC 6334 and NGC 6357 from the HOBYS project, complemented with the GLIMPSE, MPISGAL, ATLASGAL, MALT90 surveys as well as observations from SCUBA-2 and SIMBA. The multi-wavelength view allows me to spatially identify the densest cores in both regions and extract their spectral energy distribution. I modelled the emission from the cores to extract their physical parameters and I used infrared data, masers and radio catalogues, and molecular lines to assess their evolutionary status. My study present the extraction of massive dense cores in the regions NGC 6334 and NGC 6357 together with the analysis of their spatial distribution and physical parameters in the evolutionnary context of massivestar formation that is occuring in both regions.