OB Stars in the Solar Neighborhood. I. Analysis of their Spatial Distribution
Abstract
We present a newly developed, three-dimensional spatial classification method, designed to analyze the spatial distribution of early-type stars within the 1 kpc sphere around the Sun. We propose a distribution model formed by two intersecting disks, the Gould Belt (GB) and the local Galactic disk (LGD), defined by their fundamental geometric parameters. Then, using a sample of about 550 stars of spectral types earlier than B6 and luminosity classes between III and V, with precise photometric distances of less than 1 kpc, we estimate for some spectral groups the parameters of our model, as well as single-membership probabilities of GB and LGD stars, thus drawing a picture of the spatial distribution of young stars in the vicinity of the Sun.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1086/503110
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0602484
- Bibcode:
- 2006AJ....131.2700E
- Keywords:
-
- Galaxy: Solar Neighborhood;
- Stars: Early-Type;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 28 pages including 9 Postscript figures, one of them in color. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, 30 January 2006