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We have used the most modern stellar evolutionary models (Schaller et al. 1992) and observed Galactic binary characteristics to evolve a population of massive binary systems (total mass > 15 solar masses) to the High Mass X-Ray Binary (HMXRB) stage, for a range of possible initial mass functions (IMF). Given the star formation history of the Galaxy, we then derive the current number of Galactic HMXRB, and their X-ray characteristics. While previous efforts along these lines were statistical in nature, (Meurs and van den Heuvel 1989), our work is an actual population synthesis. This has allowed us to explore the impact that various uncertainties in the details of the binary interactions (primarily mass/angular momentum loss from systems during Roche lobe overflow) can have. By comparing our results with Galactic observations, we are able to determine the most likely allowable range for these uncertain quantities. We can also constrain high mass IMF slope.
