2004AJ....128.1880V

The recent catalog of spectral types of Galactic O-type stars by Maíz-Apellániz et al. is used to study the differences between the frequencies of various subtypes of O-type stars in the field, in OB associations, and among runaway stars. At a high level of statistical significance, the data show that O stars in clusters and associations have earlier types (and, hence, presumably larger masses or younger ages) than those that are situated in the general field. Furthermore, it is found that the distribution of spectral subtypes among runaway O stars is indistinguishable from that among field stars and differs significantly from that of the O-type stars that are situated in clusters and associations. The difference is in the sense that runaway O stars, on average, have later subtypes than do those that are still located in clusters and associations.