The Infrared Properties of Massive Stars in the Magellanic Clouds

TL;DR

This study analyzes the infrared characteristics of various massive star types in the Magellanic Clouds using Spitzer data, providing a comprehensive catalog for understanding stellar populations at infrared wavelengths.

Contribution

It offers the first uniform infrared photometric catalogs of confirmed massive stars in the Magellanic Clouds for comparative analysis.

Findings

Infrared excesses vary among different massive star types.

Catalogs enable interpretation of stellar populations in nearby galaxies.

Comparison across metallicities reveals differences in stellar infrared properties.

Abstract

We present results of our study of the infrared properties of massive stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are based on the Spitzer SAGE surveys of these galaxies. We have compiled catalogs of spectroscopically confirmed massive stars in each galaxy, as well as photometric catalogs for a subset of these stars that have infrared counterparts in the SAGE database, with uniform photometry from 0.3 to 24 microns in the UBVIJHKs+IRAC+MIPS24 bands. These catalogs enable a comparative study of infrared excesses of OB stars, classical Be stars, yellow and red supergiants, Wolf-Rayet stars, Luminous Blue Variables and supergiant B[e] stars, as a function of metallicity, and provide the first roadmaps for interpreting luminous, massive, resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies at infrared wavelengths.