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S.S. Eikenberry (Cornell University), K. Matthews (Caltech), M.A. Garske (Northwest Nazarene University/Cornell Univ.), Dounan Hu, M.A. Jackson, S.G. Patel, D.J. Barry, M.R. Colonno, J.R. Houck, J.C. Wilson (Cornell University)
The stellar cluster near the luminous star LBV 1806-20 is one of the most unusual clusters in the Galaxy. We report near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of cluster members using the CTIO 4-m telescope, the Palomar 5-m telescope, and the Hartung-Boothroyd Observatory 0.65-m telescope. We find that LBV 1806-20 may be the most luminous single star in the Galaxy, with L > 6 \times 106 \ L\odot. The cluster also contains at least one Wolf-Rayet star of the WCL subclass, two blue hypergiants (luminosity class \rm Ia+), and the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1806-20, all in a volume <2 pc in diameter. Such rich concentrations of massive stars and their descendants are very rare in our Galaxy. We discuss the implications of this particular cluster for the formation and evolution of extremely massive stars and soft gamma-ray repeaters.