Massive stars in the SMC: A spectroscopic investigation of the IMF

Abstract

The relative proximity and low metallicity of the Magellanic Clouds permit observations of resolved stellar populations in environments different to those found in the Galaxy. Using the multi-fibre 2dF spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope we have obtained over 4000 intermediate-resolution blue spectra of the massive-star population of the SMC. The spectra were visually classified in the MK system and used to construct an observed H-R diagram (Figure 1). This represents nearly a tenfold increase in the number of stars with spectral types in the SMC (cf. Massey, 2002).