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A deep survey for Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars. II. Implications for galactic structure and massive star formation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

Michael M. Shara ,
Michael Potter ,
Anthony F.J. Moffat ,
Robert Lamontagne ,
Lindsey F. Smith  and
Virpi S. Niemela
Michael M. Shara
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA
Michael Potter
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA
Anthony F.J. Moffat
Affiliation:
Départment de Physique, Université de Montréal, Canada
Robert Lamontagne
Affiliation:
Départment de Physique, Université de Montréal, Canada
Lindsey F. Smith
Affiliation:
School of Physics, University of Sydney, Australia
Virpi S. Niemela
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina

Abstract

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We have completed a direct narrow-band/broad-band Schmidt-plate survey of large areas of the southern Milky Way for new Wolf-Rayet stars as faint as 19th b magnitude. The 31 newly detected stars in the completed survey are amongst the reddest and/or most distant known in the Galaxy. We have obtained spectra of all candidate WR stars in the 22 fields stretching from l = 282° to l = 341° in longitude, and Δb = 3.5° in latitude, covering about 180 square degrees. We also observed two isolated Milky Way fields centered at l = 0° and l = 8°. Eighteen new WR stars are reported here for the first time. Combined with the 13 new WR stars we have already reported in Carina, our list of 31 new Galactic WR stars reaches 3–4 magnitudes fainter than previous surveys. Thirteen of the 18 new WR stars reported here are of subtype WN, while five are of subtype WC. Our new WR stars clearly demonstrate an increasing WN/WC number ratio with increasing Galactocentric distance.

Type
Part 1. Basic observational properties of Wolf-Rayet stars and other hot massive stars
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 193: Wolf-Rayet Phenomena in Massive Stars and Starburst Galaxies , 1999 , pp. 105 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1999 

References

Maeder, A. 1991, A&A 242, 93 Google Scholar
Shara, M.M., Smith, L.F., Potter, M., Moffat, A.F.J. 1991, AJ 102, 716 Google Scholar