Program: GN-2007A-C-1
| Title: | The multiplicity and stellar content within UCHII regions from MICHELLE imaging and spectroscopy |
| PI: | Paul Crowther |
| Co-I(s): | James Furness, Peter Conti, Barbara Ercolano |
Abstract
It is known that massive stars are born in massive clusters, but the stellar content of ultracompact HII (UCHII) regions is unclear. Do they host single OB stars or stellar clusters? We will use MICHELLE to obtain mid-IR imaging of 14 northern UCHII regions centred upon their [NeII] fine-structure line - for which O and early B stars are capable of providing the necessary ionization, in order to establish multipicity of high mass stars in each UCHII region. Low resolution N-band spectroscopy scans across UCHII regions will enable detection and measurement of [ArIII], [SIV] and [NeII] fine-structure lines, permitting the stellar properties of the high mass stars to be obtained via 1D and 3D photo-ionization modelling. A southern sample of UCHII regions is being requested this semester from VLT/VISIR, to enable a statistically rigorous sample.