The Masses of the Most Massive Stars: Resolving the ``Mass Discrepancy" with Eclipsing Binaries

Details The Masses of the Most Massive Stars: Resolving the ``Mass Discrepancy" with Eclipsing Binaries The Masses of the Most Massive Stars: Resolving the ``Mass Discrepancy" with Eclipsing Binaries

Feb 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007noao.prop..112m&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #2007A-0112

Physics

Scientific paper

The physics of massive stars is complicated, and although great strides have been made both in massive star evolution (interior) modeling, and in stellar atmosphere modeling, the two methods produce large disagreements (factors of two) in the derived masses for some massive stars. Thus our knowledge of the mass-luminosity relation for massive stars, and our ability to measure the initial mass function at the upper end, is cast into doubt. We have set out to resolve this ``mass discrepancy" by using a third method, one that relies only on Newtonian physics, namely obtaining masses from orbit solutions for eclipsing massive binaries. We have completed six months of photometric monitoring of Galactic OB associations, and have identified a dozen promising systems that show eclipses. For some of these, we have only the brightness and promixity to the cluster's center to believe the star is interesting, and we now need spectra to determine if these systems are truly early O stars or not. In addition, we are asking for additional queue photometry time on the 1.3-m (or 1.0-m) to determine the period accurately. These are both necessarily preludes to the time- intensive spectroscoic radial velocity observations we plan to propose next year.

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