International ultraviolet explorer spectroscopy of hot stars in the LMC and SMC : the SMC extinction law, stellar flux distributions, and details of the stellar winds.

Abstract

IUE high- and low-dispersion spectral observations of hot stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud and Large Magellanic Cloud are presented. The extinction curve for the SMC derived from the data is much steeper in the UV than those of the LMC or the Galaxy. Based on stellar continuum data, stellar temperatures in the Magellanic Clouds are found to be normal and consistent with their spectral types, and the H-R diagram shows most stars to be evolved. Strong, sharp-sided absorption lines found in the UV spectra are found to vary with stellar spectral type, and are identified with stellar winds, which are much weaker in the Magellanic Clouds than in the Galaxy. These wind data may have implications for stellar mass loss rates and resultant stellar masses in the SMC and LMC.