Discovery of Hot Supergiant Stars Near the Galactic Center

Jon C. Mauerhan(1), Michael P. Muno(2), and Mark Morris(1)


(1) Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095
(2) Space Radiation Laboroatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125

Paper: ApJ, in press

EPrint Server: astro-ph/0703175


Abstract:

We report new results of a campaign to find Wolf-Rayet and O (WR/O) stars and high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) in the Galactic center. We searched for candidates by cross-correlating the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey with a deep Chandra X-ray Observatory catalog of point sources in the Radio Arches region. Following up with K-band spectroscopy, we found two massive stellar counterparts to CXOGC J174555.3-285126 and CXOGC J174617.0-285131, which we classify as a broad-lined WR star of sub-type WN6b and an O Ia supergiant, respectively. Their X-ray properties are most consistent with those of known colliding-wind binaries in the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud, although a scenario involving low-rate accretion onto a compact object is also possible. The O Ia star lies 4.4 pc in projection from the Quintuplet cluster, and has a radial velocity consistent with that of the Quintuplet, suggesting that this star might have escaped from the cluster. We also present the discovery of a B2 Ia supergiant, which we identified as a candidate massive star using 8 micron Spitzer maps of the Galactic center in a region near the known massive X-ray-emitting star CXOGC J174516.1-290315. We discuss the origin of these stars in the context of evolving stellar clusters in the Galactic center.


Preprints available from the authors at mauerhan@astro.ucla.edu , or the raw TeX (no figures) if you click here.

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