Open AccessA systematic survey for infrared star clusters with | b | < 20° using 2MASS
Author(s) -
Froebrich D.,
Scholz A.,
Raftery C. L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11148.x
Subject(s) - physics , globular cluster , astrophysics , star cluster , cluster (spacecraft) , open cluster , sky , galactic plane , star formation , star (game theory) , star count , astronomy , galaxy , intergalactic star , stars , t tauri star , galaxy merger , k type main sequence star , computer science , programming language
We used star density maps obtained from the Two‐Micron All‐Sky Survey (2MASS) to obtain a sample of star clusters in the entire Galactic Plane with | b | < 20° . A total of 1788 star cluster candidates are identified in this survey. Among those are 681 previously known open clusters and 86 globular clusters. A statistical analysis indicates that our sample of 1021 new cluster candidates has a contamination of about 50 per cent. Star cluster parameters are obtained by fitting a King profile to the star density. These parameters are used to statistically identify probable new globular cluster candidates in our sample. A detailed investigation of the projected distribution of star clusters in the Galaxy demonstrates that they show a clear tendency to cluster on spatial scales in the order of 12–25 pc, a typical size for molecular clouds.