Empirical bolometric corrections for the main-sequence.

Empirical relations are derived between the bolometric corrections and masses, spectral types and effective temperatures of main sequence stars. The most reliable available data for visual/astrometric binaries and eclipsing binaries that are at the same time double-lines spectroscopic binaries was used to obtain empirical mass-spectral type and mass-visual luminosity relations for the first group, and empirical mass-gravity, mass-radius, mass-spectral type, mass-effective temperature and mass-bolometric luminosity relations for the second. A mean mass-bolometric correction relation is then derived for the entire range of main sequence stars which may be transformed into relations between the bolometric correction and spectral type or effective temperature. The results are found to agree well with the theoretical results of Buser and Kurucz (1978) for masses greater than 7 solar masses and equal to 1.35 solar masses, and with the empirical results of Code et al. (1976).