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arXiv · astro-ph/0610146

A systematic survey for infrared star clusters with |b|<20deg using 2MASS

Abstract

We used star density maps obtained from 2MASS to obtain a sample of star clusters in the entire Galactic Plane with |b|<20deg. 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%. 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 12-25pc, a typical size for molecular clouds.

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D. Froebrich, A. Scholz, C. L. Raftery. 2006-10-05. A systematic survey for infrared star clusters with |b|<20deg using 2MASS. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11148.x

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