The Infrared Massive Stellar Content of M83
arXiv:1503.05942 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201525696
Abstract
We present an analysis of archival Spitzer images and new ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) near-infrared (IR) and optical images of the field of M83 with the goal of identifying rare, dusty, evolved massive stars. We present point source catalogs consisting of 3778 objects from Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) Band 1 (3.6 m) and Band 2 (4.5 m), and 975 objects identified in Magellan 6.5m FourStar near-IR and images. A combined catalog of coordinate matched near- and mid-IR point sources yields 221 objects in the field of M83. Using this photometry we identify 185 massive evolved stellar candidates based on their location in color-magnitude and color-color diagrams. We estimate the background contamination to our stellar candidate lists and further classify candidates based on their appearance in Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) observations of M83. We find 49 strong candidates for massive stars which are very promising objects for spectroscopic follow-up. Based on their location in a versus diagram, we expect at least 24, or roughly 50%, to be confirmed as red supergiants.
32 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in A&A
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