The massive stellar population of W49: a spectroscopic survey
- Author(s)
- S. Wu, A. Bik, Th. Henning, A. Pasquali, J. Alves, A. Stolte, W. Brandner, M. Gennaro, B. Rochau, A. D. Gouliermis, H. Beuther, Y. Wang
- Abstract
Where and how are massive stars forming in the Galaxy? Answering this
question is hampered by their high extinction and short life times.
Starburst clusters such as W49 where 100s of OB-type stars are present
are exceptional laboratories to address these issues. W49 is one of the
most luminous and youngest HII regions in our galaxy located at a
distance of 11.4 kpc. The region consists of over 40 ultra-compact HII
regions as well as a more extended Giant HII region. We present
observations made by applying imaging and multi-object spectroscopy in
the K-band of the high-mass stellar content of W49. These near-infrared
observations are obtained with LUCI at the Large Binocular Telescope.
The K-band spectra of the candidate massive stars provide us with more
reliable spectral types than photometry alone. After spectroscopic
classification (and applying the proper extinction law), the objects can
be placed in a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. With comparison to stellar
evolution models, the age as well as the mass of the stellar population
can be estimated. We present the first results of our spectroscopic
campaign of W49 in this poster.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- Publication date
- 06-2013
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103004 Astrophysics, 103003 Astronomy
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/142ee559-f1a8-4217-825e-5a38172e83cc