Infrared Observations of LBV 1806-20 and Nearby Cluster Stars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

We report near-infrared photometry, spectroscopy, and speckle imaging of the hot, luminous star we identify as LBV 1806-20. We also present photometry and spectroscopy of 3 nearby stars, which are members of the same star cluster containing LBV 1806-20 and SGR 1806-20. The spectroscopy and photometry show that LBV 1806-20 is similar in many respects to the luminous ``Pistol Star'', albeit with some important differences. They also provide estimates of the effective temperature and reddening of LBV 1806-20, and confirm distance estimates, leading to an estimate for the luminosity of this star of > 5 × 106 \ L&sun;. The nearby cluster stars have spectral types and inferred absolute magnitudes which confirm the distance (and thus luminosity) estimate for LBV 1806-20. Furthermore, based on very high angular-resolution speckle images, we determine that LBV 1806-20 is not a cluster of stars, but is rather a single star or binary system. Simple arguments based on the Eddington luminosity lead to an estimate of the total mass of LBV 1806-20 (single or binary) exceeding 200 \ M&sun;. We discuss the possible uncertainties in these results, and their implications for the star formation history of this cluster.

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