Recent ground-based programs and groundbreaking space missions, together with new methods involved in data analysis, have brought significant discoveries while outlining future directions of research of multiple stellar systems. However, within the realm of objects like symbiotic stars and other peculiar binaries, numerous aspects concerning their behavior, parameters, and evolution remain unresolved. The conference aims to discuss and build upon recent advancements in the field, made possible through dedicated research by the global scientific community.
A few of the key topics to be addressed include:
- relationship between symbiotic stars, novae, peculiar cataclysmic variables, and red novae/mergers,
- recurrent novae, super-soft X-ray sources, and the symbiotic channel leading to Type Ia supernovae,
- stability and time scales of mass transfer and the accretion disk in eruptive systems,
- novae with evolved giant donors,
- interaction of nova ejecta with its circumstellar and interstellar surroundings,
- R Aqr as a proxy for interacting binaries with AGB donors,
- X-ray emitting symbiotic stars,
- extragalactic populations of symbiotic systems,
- red novae and other mergers,
- extreme Algols and W Ser-type interacting binaries.
The list is open, and participants are encouraged to propose other related topics, enriching the conference's discourse. The conference program remains dynamic and will be shaped by the SOC based on the abstracts submitted by participants. We anticipate that this conference will foster collaboration, inspire new research directions, and enhance our comprehension of these enigmatic stellar systems.