Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
In this paper we report briefly on a study of the mass loss of early type stars in the infrared. Up to now near infrared (1.25 - 4.8 μ ) broad band photometry of 70 southern OB stars of various luminosity class has been secured. Program stars have been selected, among those bright enough in the infrared to give a suitable photometric accuracy, in order to cover a wide range of spectral types (Fig. 1).
37 stars are found to exhibit emission in excess over a blackbody photospheric continuum, which is interpreted in terms of gas ejected in the form of an accelerated wind. By means of model calculations the corresponding mass loss rates are derived. The obtained values compare well with those determined indipendently by various Authors for stars in common. Our data show that mass loss rates increase with luminosity and are a decreasing function of surface gravity.