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Very massive binaries in R 136

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2011

André-Nicolas Chené ,
Olivier Schnurr ,
Paul A. Crowther ,
Eduardo F. Lajus  and
Anthony F. J. Moffat
André-Nicolas Chené
Affiliation:
Departamento de Física, Universidad de Concepción email: achene@astro-udec.cl National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
Olivier Schnurr
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam
Paul A. Crowther
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield
Eduardo F. Lajus
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Anthony F. J. Moffat
Affiliation:
Département de Physique, Université de Montréal
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Abstract

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As recent observations have shown, luminous, hydrogen-rich WN5-7h stars (and their somewhat less extreme cousins, O3f/WN6 stars) are the most massive main-sequence stars known. However, not nearly enough very massive stars have been reliably weighed to yield a clear picture of the upper initial-mass function (IMF). We therefore have carried out repeated high-quality spectroscopy of four new O3f/WN6 and WN5-7h binaries in R136 in the LMC with GMOS at Gemini-South, to derive Keplerian orbits for both components, respectively, and thus to directly determine their masses. We also monitored binary candidates and other, previously unsurveyed stars, to increase the number of very massive stars that can be directly weighed.

Keywords

stars: fundamental parameters (masses)stars: Wolf-Rayet(stars:) binaries: eclipsing(stars:) binaries: spectroscopic
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 6 , Symposium S272: Active OB stars: structure, evolution, mass loss, and critical limits , July 2010 , pp. 497 - 498
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

References

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