Studies of massive stars in the Magellanic Clouds. I. New spectral classifications of OB types in the LMC.
Abstract
We present new split spectral types for 191 O and B stars in the LMC previously having only objective prism data. The spectroscopic and photometric data on the LMC O stars are not yet complete, but we are able to discuss the intrinsic colors and the distance modulus of the LMC. We find that the latter is 18.3 ± 0.3 both from spectroscopic parallax and ZAMS fitting, somewhat smaller than the canonical value of 18.6 and closer to the Schommer et al. (1984) value of 18.2. The intrinsic (U - B)0, (B - V)0 of the O stars hardly differ among themselves and are similar to the values of the earliest B main- sequence stars. This is the first paper in a series on the massive-star content of the Magellanic Clouds; ultimately we plan to derive the massive-star formation rates and initial mass functions directly.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- July 1986
- DOI:
- 10.1086/114133
- Bibcode:
- 1986AJ.....92...48C
- Keywords:
-
- Early Stars;
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Stellar Spectra;
- Supermassive Stars;
- Astronomical Catalogs;
- B Stars;
- Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram;
- O Stars;
- Stellar Color;
- Astrophysics