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Deducing the Milky Way's Massive Cluster Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2010

M. M. Hanson
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
B. Popescu
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
S. S. Larsen
Affiliation:
Astronomical Institute, University of Utrecht, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, NL
V. D. Ivanov
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Ave. Alonso de Cordova 3107, Santiago 19001, Chile
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Abstract

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Recent near-infrared surveys of the galactic plane have been used to identify new massive cluster candidates. Follow up study indicates about half are not true, gravitationally-bound clusters. These false positives are created by high density fields of unassociated stars, often due to a sight-line of reduced extinction. What is not so easy to estimate is the number of false negatives, clusters which exist but are not currently being detected by our surveys. In order to derive critical characteristics of the Milky Way's massive cluster population, such as cluster mass function and cluster lifetimes, one must be able to estimate the characteristics of these false negatives. Our group has taken on the daunting task of attempting such an estimate by first creating the stellar cluster imaging simulation program, MASSCLEAN. I will present our preliminary models and methods for deriving the biases of current searches.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

Ivanov, V. D., Messineo, M., Zhu, , et al. 2009, A&A, submittedGoogle Scholar
Popescu, B. & Hanson, M. M. 2009, AJ, submittedGoogle Scholar
van den Bergh, & Lafontaine, 1984, AJ, 89, 1822CrossRefGoogle Scholar