Physics
Scientific paper
Jun 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005sptz.prop20574v&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #20574
Physics
Scientific paper
Massive stars have an unparalleled effect on galaxy evolution, since their strong stellar winds and the inevitable supernovae input energy and chemical elements into the interstellar medium. O-type stars are thought to evolve through the red supergiant and luminous blue variable phases to become H-poor Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, before explosion. Due to their high luminosity, the presence of WR stars can be detected in the integrated spectra of galaxies, and the short duration of this phase of massive stellar evolution makes WR stars excellent probes of very recent star formation, metallicity, and the initial mass function in the nearby Universe. Unfortunately, the number of WR stars in the Milky Way is deficient by factors of 4 to 10, depending on the models, and as a result we know little about the total massive star formation and the fate of massive stellar evolution in our own Galaxy. The culprit is the rapid increase with distance of the line-of-sight extinction, due to dust in the Galactic Plane, where most WR stars are located. Detecting new WR stars is greatly alleviated in the infrared, where extinction is substantially lower. For this reason, we will analyze the combination of point source extractions from the GLIMPSE Legacy and 2MASS surveys, since this merging of the mid- and near-infrared provides a powerful means of identifying a significant number of hidden WR stars in the Plane.
Marston Anthony
Morris Patrick
Smith Douglas J.
van Dyk Schuyler
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