The Stellar Content of Obscured Galactic Giant H [CSC]ii[/CSC] Regions. I. W43

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Abstract
Near-infrared images of the Galactic giant H II region W43 reveal a dense stellar cluster at its center. Broadband JHK photometry of the young cluster and K-band spectra of three of its bright stars are presented. The 2 μm spectrum of the brightest star in the cluster is very well matched to the spectra of Wolf-Rayet stars of subtype WN7. Two other stars are identified as O-type giants or supergiants by their N III and C IV emission. The close spatial clustering of O- and the hydrogen WN-type stars is analogous to the intense starburst clusters R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud and NGC 3603 in the Galaxy.
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