Classical HII Regions in the Magellanic Clouds. II. Stellar Content
Abstract
In this second in a series of papers on the nature of classical H II regions in the Magellanic Clouds I investigate the properties of the underlying stellar content of the nebulae. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying and classifying the ionizing source(s) for each H II region. With the exception of the LMC H II regions DEM 20 and DEM 8c, I find that all of the objects in this sample are ionized by more than one O or B star. Even the faintest H II regions reflect the formation of a handful of massive, albeit early B type, stars. Typically, one star accounts for 60%-70% of the ionizing photons and 2-5 less massive stars provide the remaining 30%-40%. From the statistics of the hottest stars in these H II regions, and from considering all the blue stars contained within each region, the distribution of massive stars with spectral type is consistent with results found in similar galactic H II regions.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- November 1994
- DOI:
- 10.1086/117189
- Bibcode:
- 1994AJ....108.1674W
- Keywords:
-
- B Stars;
- Blue Stars;
- H Alpha Line;
- H Ii Regions;
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Massive Stars;
- O Stars;
- Star Distribution;
- Star Formation;
- Stellar Composition;
- Stellar Spectra;
- Astronomical Photometry;
- Astronomical Spectroscopy;
- Color-Magnitude Diagram;
- Ionization;
- Ionizing Radiation;
- Spectroscopic Telescopes;
- Stellar Color;
- Stellar Radiation;
- Astronomy;
- HII REGIONS;
- MAGELLANIC CLOUDS;
- GALAXIES: STELLAR CONTENT