Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21541413s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #414.13; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.256
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We present high S/N, moderate resolution (R 2000) near-infrared spectra, as well as 10 micron imaging and low resolution spectra (R 200) for the brightest members of the central stellar cluster in the W40 H II region, obtained using the SpeX and MIRSI instruments at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). Using these data, we have determined the spectral classifications, extinction, distances, and spectral energy distributions for the brightest members of the cluster. W40 is a relatively little-studied star forming region composed of a molecular cloud and a small cluster of embedded OB stars powering a modest H II region. Previous estimates of the distance to W40 range from 400 to 700 pc, which puts the region roughly 35 pc above the galactic plane in the direction of the Aquila Rift. Our near-IR spectra clearly indicate that the brightest sources are late O or early B-type stars obscured by up to 11 magnitudes of visual extinction. In addition we identified at least one late-type star and one low-mass protostar in the central cluster. Many of the sources also show mid-IR excesses that are indicative of circumstellar dust associated with star formation. For one source, mid-IR images suggest that this circumstellar material is located in a shell rather than a disk, which may be due to dust swept up in a recent stellar mass ejection. A number of previously unknown mid-IR sources were also detected in our MIRSI images.
Kassis Marc
Shuping Ralph
Vacca William
Yu Ke
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