Abstract
We present the first results from our survey of the star-forming complex W3, combining VRI photometry with multiobject spectroscopy to identify and characterize the high-mass stellar population across the region. With 79 new spectral classifications, we bring the total number of spectroscopically confirmed O- and B-type stars in W3 to 105. We find that the high-mass slope of the mass function in W3 is consistent with a Salpeter IMF, and that the extinction toward the region is best characterized by an RV of approximately 3.6. B-type stars are found to be more widely dispersed across the W3 giant molecular cloud (GMC) than previously realized: they are not confined to the high-density layer (HDL) created by the expansion of the neighboring W4 H ii region into the GMC. This broader B-type population suggests that star formation in W3 began spontaneously up to 8-10 Myr ago, although at a lower level than the more recent star formation episodes in the HDL. In addition, we describe a method of optimizing sky subtraction for fiber spectra in regions of strong and spatially variable nebular emission.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 42 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 813 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2015 |
Keywords
- dust, extinction
- open clusters and associations: individual (Westerhout 3)
- stars: early-type
- stars: formation
- stars: luminosity function, mass function
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
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O and B type stars in W3: first results
Kiminki, M. M. (Creator), Kim, J. S. (Creator), Bagley, M. B. (Creator), Sherry, W. H. (Creator) & Rieke, G. H. (Creator), Centre de Donnees Strasbourg (CDS), 2016
DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier.18130042, https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/813/42
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