Quantitative NIR Spectroscopy of Massive Stars

Interest for near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy of massive stars has been dramatically increasing over the last decade. Because it allows one to observe objects inaccessible at optical wavelengths due to absorption, the infrared domain offers a privileged window to study highly extinguished objects. Yet, a detailed calibration of the massive star properties at NIR wavelength is still missing. Following the lines of the work of Repolust et al. (2005), we have acquired high resolution spectroscopy of several nearby massive stars using VLT/CRIRES, focusing on spectral lines of interest in the J, H, K, and L bands. In this work, we present the earliest results of our quantitative spectroscopic analysis of the main sequence stars in our sample. Using the unique combination of a genetic algorithm approach with the state-of-the-art non-LTE atmosphere model FASTWIND, we compare the stellar and wind properties as derived from the optical and the NIR regime.