The massive star population of Cygnus OB2

We have compiled a significantly updated and comprehensive census of massive stars in the nearby Cygnus OB2 association by gathering and homogenizing data from across the literature. The census contains 169 primary OB stars, including 52 O-type stars and 3 Wolf–Rayet stars. Spectral types and photometry are used to place the stars in a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, which is compared to both non-rotating and rotating stellar evolution models, from which stellar masses and ages are calculated. The star formation history and mass function of the association are assessed, and both are found to be heavily influenced by the evolution of the most massive stars to their end states. We find that the mass function of the most massive stars is consistent with a ‘universal’ power-law slope of Γ = 1.3.