Bibcode
Herrero, A.; Corral, L. J.; Villamariz, M. R.; Martín, E. L.
Referencia bibliográfica
Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.348, p.542-552 (1999)
Fecha de publicación:
8
1999
Revista
Número de citas
48
Número de citas referidas
44
Descripción
We present the results of the spectral analysis of 11 OB stars in Cyg
OB2, among them seven giants and supergiants. The projected rotational
velocities of these stars are low or moderate. We find that only one of
the stars (previously classified as luminosity class V) shows helium
enhancement, and that this turns out to be compatible with standard
evolutionary models without rotation. Only a second object gives an
abundance that could be larger than solar. In addition, these two stars
are found to be the most luminous in the sample. In summary, no helium
discrepancy is found for the stars analysed in Cyg OB2. The cause of
this result is speculated to be due to: a) the youth of the stars
studied, b) the low rotational velocity of the sample observed, or c) a
combination of both. The massive stars in Cyg OB2 are found to have ages
between 1 and 5 Myr, and the most massive ones have initial evolutionary
masses in excess of 100 M/Msunsun. Thus we confirm that Cyg
OB2 is a young association rich in very massive stars. We study a
possible correlation between the helium abundance and the stellar
rotation and conclude that present data are consistent with the
hypothesis that mixing processes probably related to rotation are
present in the massive stars and in some cases strongly influence their
early evolutionary phases. The Isaac Newton Telescope is operated on the
island of La Palma by the RGO in the Spanish Obervatorio del Roque de
los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.