The X‐ray emission from the supermassive star η Car is simulated using a 3D model of the wind–wind collision. In the model the intrinsic X‐ray emission is spatially extended and energy dependent. Absorption due to the unshocked stellar winds and the cooled post‐shock material from the primary LBV star is calculated as the intrinsic emission is ray traced along multiple sightlines through the 3D spiral structure of the circumstellar environment. The observable emission is then compared to available X‐ray data, including the light curve observed by the Rossi X‐ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and spectra observed by XMM–Newton. The orientation and eccentricity of the orbit are explored, as are the wind parameters of the stars and the nature and physics of their close approach. Our modelling supports a viewing angle with an inclination of ≃42°, consistent with the polar axis of the Homunculus nebula, and the projection of the observer's line of sight on to the orbital plane has an angle of ≃0°–30° in the prograde direction on the apastron side of the semimajor axis. However, there are significant discrepancies between the observed and model light curves and spectra through the X‐ray minimum. In particular, the hard flux in our synthetic spectra is an order of magnitude greater than observed. This suggests that the hard X‐ray emission near the apex of the wind–wind collision region (WCR) ‘switches off’ from periastron until two months afterwards. Further calculations reveal that radiative inhibition significantly reduces the pre‐shock velocity of the companion wind. As a consequence the hard X‐ray emission is quenched, but it is unclear whether the long duration of the minimum is due solely to this mechanism alone. For instance, it is possible that the collapse of the WCR on to the surface of the companion star, which would be aided by significant inhibition of the companion wind, could cause an extended minimum as the companion wind struggles to re‐establish itself as the stars recede. For orbital eccentricities, e≲ 0.95, radiative braking prevents a wind collision with the companion star's surface. Models incorporating a collapse/disruption of the WCR and/or reduced pre‐shock companion wind velocities bring the predicted emission and the observations into much better agreement.

Three dimensional (3D) adaptive-mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamical simulations of the windwind collision between the enigmatic super-massive star η Car and its mysterious companion star are presented which include radiative driving of the stellar winds, gravity, optically-thin radiative cooling, and orbital motion. Simulations with static stars with a periastron passage separation reveal that the preshock companion star's wind speed is sufficiently reduced that radiative cooling in the postshock gas becomes important, permitting the runaway growth of non-linear thin shell (NTSI) instabilities which massively distort the WCR. However, large-scale simulations which include the orbital motion of the stars, show that orbital motion reduces the impact of radiative inhibition, and thus increases the acquired preshock velocities. As such, the postshock gas temperature and cooling time see a commensurate increase, and sufficient gas pressure is preserved to stabilize the WCR against catastrophic instability growth. We then compute synthetic X-ray spectra and lightcurves and find that, compared to previous models, the X-ray spectra agree much better with XMM-Newton observations just prior to periastron. The narrow width of the 2009 X-ray minimum can also be reproduced. However, the models fail to reproduce the extended X-ray mimimum from previous cycles. We conclude that the key to explaining the extended X-ray minimum is the rate of cooling of the companion star's postshock wind. If cooling is rapid then powerful NTSIs will heavily disrupt the WCR. Radiative inhibition of the companion star's preshock wind, albeit with a stronger radiationwind coupling than explored in this work, could be an effective trigger.

The Great Nebula in Carina provides an exceptional view into the violent massive star formation and feedback that typifies giant HII regions and starburst galaxies. We have mapped the Carina star-forming complex in X-rays, using archival Chandra data and a mosaic of 20 new 60-ks pointings using the Chandra X-ray Observatory's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer, as a testbed for understanding recent and ongoing -2star formation and to probe Carina's regions of bright diffuse X-ray emission. This study has yielded a catalog of properties of >14,000 X-ray point sources; >9800 of them have multiwavelength counterparts. Using Chandra's unsurpassed X-ray spatial resolution, we have separated these point sources from the extensive, spatiallycomplex diffuse emission that pervades the region; X-ray properties of this diffuse emission suggest that it traces feedback from Carina's massive stars. In this introductory paper, we motivate the survey design, describe the Chandra observations, and present some simple results, providing a foundation for the 15 papers that follow in this Special Issue and that present detailed catalogs, methods, and science results.