On the class of Oe stars\fnmsep
We present high-quality spectra of the majority of stars that have beenclassified as Oe and find that their published spectral types aregenerally too early, most likely due to infilling of He I lines. As amatter of fact, all stars classified as Oe actually fall inside therange O9-B0 with the important exception of HD 155806 (O7.5 III) andperhaps HD 39680 (difficult to classify, but likely O8.5 V).Observations of a sample of objects with published spectral types in theO9-B0 range previously classified as peculiar or emission-line starsfail to reveal any new Oe star with spectral type earlier than O9.5.Most objects classified as peculiar in ``classical'' literature showsigns of binarity in our spectra, but no spectral anomalies. We concludethat there is likely a real decline in the fraction of Be stars forspectral types earlier than B0, not due to observational bias. The fewOe stars with spectral types earlier than O9.5 deserve detailedinvestigation in order to provide constraints on the physical reasons ofthe Be phenomenon.Based on observations obtained at the Isaac Newton Telescope (La Palma,Spain).
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A radio and mid-infrared survey of northern bright-rimmed clouds
We have carried out an archival radio, optical and infrared wavelengthimaging survey of 44 Bright-Rimmed Clouds (BRCs) using the NRAO/VLA SkySurvey (NVSS) archive, images from the Digitised Sky Survey (DSS) andthe Midcourse Space eXperiment (MSX). The data characterise the physicalproperties of the Ionised Boundary Layer (IBL) of the BRCs. We haveclassified the radio detections as: that associated with the ionisedcloud rims; that associated with possible embedded Young Stellar Objects(YSOs); and that unlikely to be associated with the clouds at all. Thestars responsible for ionising each cloud are identified and acomparison of the expected ionising flux to that measured at the cloudrims is presented. A total of 25 clouds display 20 cm radio continuumemission that is associated with their bright optical rims. The ionisingphoton flux illuminating these clouds, the ionised gas pressure and theelectron density of the IBL are determined. We derive internal molecularpressures for 9 clouds using molecular line data from the literature andcompare these pressures to the IBL pressures to determine the pressurebalance of the clouds. We find three clouds in which the pressureexerted by their IBLs is much greater than that measured in the internalmolecular material. A comparison of external pressures around theremaining clouds to a global mean internal pressure shows that themajority of clouds can be expected to be in pressure equilibrium withtheir IBLs and hence are likely to be currently shocked byphotoionisation shocks. We identify one source which shows 20 cmemission consistent with that of an embedded high-mass YSO and confirmits association with a known infrared stellar cluster. This embeddedcluster is shown to contain early-type B stars, implying that at leastsome BRCs are intimately involved in intermediate to high mass starformation.Figure \ref{fig:images} and Table \ref{tbl:istars1} are only availablein electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
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Distances and Metallicities of High- and Intermediate-Velocity Clouds
A table is presented that summarizes published absorption linemeasurements for the high- and intermediate-velocity clouds (HVCs andIVCs). New values are derived for N(H I) in the direction of observedprobes, in order to arrive at reliable abundances and abundance limits(the H I data are described in Paper II). Distances to stellar probesare revisited and calculated consistently, in order to derive distancebrackets or limits for many of the clouds, taking care to properlyinterpret nondetections. The main conclusions are the following. (1)Absolute abundances have been measured using lines of S II, N I, and OI, with the following resulting values: ~0.1 solar for one HVC (complexC), ~0.3 solar for the Magellanic Stream, ~0.5 solar for a southern IVC,and ~solar for two northern IVCs (the IV Arch and LLIV Arch). Finally,approximate values in the range 0.5-2 solar are found for three moreIVCs. (2) Depletion patterns in IVCs are like those in warm disk or halogas. (3) Most distance limits are based on strong UV lines of C II, SiII, and Mg II, a few on Ca II. Distance limits for major HVCs aregreater than 5 kpc, while distance brackets for several IVCs are in therange 0.5-2 kpc. (4) Mass limits for major IVCs are0.5-8×105 Msolar, but for major HVCs theyare more than 106 Msolar. (5) The Ca II/H I ratiovaries by up to a factor 2-5 within a single cloud, somewhat morebetween clouds. (6) The Na I/H I ratio varies by a factor of more than10 within a cloud, and even more between clouds. Thus, Ca II can beuseful for determining both lower and upper distance limits, but Na Ionly yields upper limits.
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UBV beta Database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars
A database of photoelectric UBV beta photometry for stars listed in theCase-Hamburg northern and southern Milky Way luminous stars surveys hasbeen compiled from the original research literature. Consisting of over16,000 observations of some 7300 stars from over 500 sources, thisdatabase constitutes the most complete compilation of such photometryavailable for intrinsically luminous stars around the Galactic plane.Over 5000 stars listed in the Case-Hamburg surveys still lackfundamental photometric data.
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The interstellar 217 NM band - A third catalogue of equivalent widths
A catalog of equivalent widths of the 217 nm interstellar absorptionband as well as other parameters characterizing the extinction curve inthe ultraviolet has been compiled for 790 O and B stars. A relativelytight correlation between the equivalent width of the 217 nm band andE(B-V) indicates that the absorber of this band is connected with thepopulation of larger interstellar grains responsible for the visualextinction. The parameter characterizing the amount of extinction in thefar UV is only weakly correlated with E(B-V), a result in accord withthe assumption that a second population of very small grains causes therapid increase of the far-UV extinction.
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The structure and dynamics of evolved supernova remnants - The IC 443 complex
The extended cloud complex containing the supernova remnant IC 443, theH II region S 249 and members of the Gem OB 1 association is studiedwith IRAS observations at 12, 25, 60 and 100 microns and WSRTobservations at 327 and 1400 MHz and in the 21 cm H I line. IC 443 isshown to consist of three interconnected approximately sphericalsubshells of vastly different radii and centroids. The geometry is fullyconstrained by the structural and kinematic data. Two of these subshellstogether define the usually assumed boundaries of IC 443, while thethird includes the optical filaments which extend beyond the brightnorth-eastern rim. These filaments are shown to have well correlatednonthermal radio counterparts. Physical parameters are derived for theentire complex, individual H II regions and the shocked and recombinedgas within IC 443 from the radio and infrared data. The availableevidence implies that the SNR shock has encountered a pre-existing highdensity shell. It is shown that the system of subshells is fullyconsistent with formation by stellar wind driven bubbles generated byassociation members within the inhomogeneous environment of the complex.
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Distance to the anti-center shell
High-resolution, high-sensitivity echelle spectra have been obtainedtowards early-type stars located within the boundaries of theAnti-Center Shell (ACS), an anomalous velocity H I structure in theanticenter region of the Galaxy. The observations indicate that theshell is certainly more distant than 500 pc, and quite possibly moredistant than 2500 pc. No anomalous velocity C II absorption featureswere detected. These results support the hypothesis that the ACS is theresult of collision of high-velocity clouds with the Galactic H I disk.
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A catalog of ultraviolet interstellar extinction excesses for 1415 stars
Ultraviolet interstellar extinction excesses are presented for 1415stars with spectral types B7 and earlier. The excesses with respect to Vare derived from Astronomical Netherlands Satellite (ANS) 5-channel UVphotometry at central wavelengths of approximately 1550, 1800, 2500, and3300 A. A measure of the excess extinction in the 2200-A extinction bumpis also given. The data are valuable for investigating the systematicsof peculiar interstellar extinction and for studying the character of UVinterstellar extinction in the general direction of stars for which theextinction-curve shape is unknown.
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Intrinsic UV colour indices of early-type stars
Intrinsic UV colors of the early-type stars have been determined using anew method based on the assumption that there is a linear correlationbetween UV color excesses and E(B-V). This method makes it possible toinclude all stars with available photometry independent of reddening.Results derived from ANS photometric data are presented. These includeintrinsic UV colors covering all ANS photometric bands for spectraltypes O6-AO. It is also shown that this method, based on perfectcorrelation between UV and visual extinction, fails for the shortwavelength color index CI(1550 A-1800 A).
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The initial mass function for massive stars
A machine readable catalog of over 750 galactic O stars with publishedphotometry, spectral types, and luminosity classes has been compiled.The catalog is probably complete to a distance of about 2.5 kpc. Fromthis volume-limited data, the initial mass function (IMF) for stars moremassive than 20 solar masses has been derived. This IMF differs fromthat of Miller and Scalo (1979) and of Lequeux (1979), in havingproportionately more O type stars and not as steep a fall-off in numberof stars with increasing mass. Dividing the sample into stars inside andoutside the solar circle, a substantial difference in the IMF of themost massive stars is found. There are proportionally more toward thegalactic center. This gradient in the IMF may be related to the observedspace density of Wolf-Rayet stars, which are descendants of O typestars.
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Studies of luminous stars in nearby galaxies. I. Supergiants and O stars in the Milky Way.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1978ApJS...38..309H&db_key=AST
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A catalogue of galactic O stars. The ionization of the low density interstellar medium by runaway stars.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1974RMxAA...1..211C&db_key=AST
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A new general O type stars catalogue
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1973A&AS...12..277G&db_key=AST
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Observations de nouvelles regions HII galactiques et d'etoiles excitatrices
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1973A&A....25..337G&db_key=AST
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A Study of the i Geminorum Association.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1960ApJ...132..361H&db_key=AST
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Studies in Galactic STRUCTURE.II.LUMINOSITY Classification for 1270 Blue Giant Stars.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1955ApJS....2...41M&db_key=AST
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The Association i Geminorum.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1955ApJ...121...24C&db_key=AST
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