Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Electronic Refereed Journal Article (HTML)
· Full Refereed Journal Article (PDF/Postscript)
· arXiv e-print (arXiv:astro-ph/0210119)
· References in the article
· Citations to the Article (18) (Citation History)
· Refereed Citations to the Article
· SIMBAD Objects (11)
· NED Objects (8)
· Also-Read Articles (Reads History)
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
Wolf-Rayet Stars in IC 10: Probing the Nearest Starburst
Authors:
Massey, Philip; Holmes, Shadrian
Affiliation:
AA(Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001; , ), AB(Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001; , )
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 580, Issue 1, pp. L35-L38. (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
11/2002
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
Galaxies: Individual: Alphanumeric: IC 10, Galaxies: Starburst, Galaxies: Stellar Content, Stars: Evolution, Stars: Wolf-Rayet
Abstract Copyright:
(c) 2002: The American Astronomical Society
DOI:
10.1086/345405
Bibliographic Code:
2002ApJ...580L..35M

Abstract

IC 10 is the nearest starburst galaxy, as revealed both by its Hα surface brightness and by the large number of Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars per unit area. The relative number of known WC- to WN-type W-R stars has been thought to be unusually high (approximately two), which is unexpected for IC 10's metallicity. In this Letter, we report the first results of a new and deeper survey for W-R stars in IC 10. We successfully detected all of the spectroscopically known W-R stars, and based on comparisons with a neighboring control field, we estimate that the total number of W-R stars in IC 10 is about 100. We present spectroscopic confirmation of two of our W-R candidates, both of which are of WN type. Our photometric survey predicts that the actual WC/WN ratio is ~0.3. This makes the WC/WN ratio of IC 10 consistent with that expected for its metallicity but greatly increases the already unusually high number of W-R stars, resulting in a surface density that is about 20 times higher than in the LMC. If the majority of these candidates are spectroscopically confirmed, IC 10 must have an exceptional population of high-mass stars. Observations reported here were obtained at (1) the Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory, a joint facility of the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Institution, and at (2) the Kitt Peak National Observatory, a division of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)
   

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Keywords (in text query field)
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints
    


SAO/NASA ADS Homepage | ADS Sitemap | Query Form | Basic Search | Preferences | HELP | FAQ