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PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-1498
DTSTART:20090407T204500Z
DTEND:20090407T220000Z
DTSTAMP:20260420T094151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20090401T155435Z
LOCATION:6515 Sterling Hall
SUMMARY:Massive Star Clusters in the Milky Way: The known and the know
 n unkowns\, Astronomy Colloquium\, Margaret Hanson\, University of Cin
 cinnati Physics Dept
DESCRIPTION:The GLIMPSE survey of the Spitzer Space Telescope has prov
 ided unprecedented views to study the stellar population of the inner 
 plane<br>
\nof the Milky Way galaxy. Numerous groups have used this su
 rvey to identify new massive stellar cluster candidates. Follow up stu
 dy of<br>
\nthese candidates indicate about half are true\, bound clus
 ters (theknown). The remaining are 'false positives': high density fie
 lds of unassociated stars\, mimicking a true cluster. What is not so e
 asy to estimate is the number of 'false negatives' from present survey
 s. These are clusters which exist\, but are not detected in current se
 arches (known unknowns). A cluster might not be detected because the c
 ore is not concentrated enough\, it is highly extinguished\, or there 
 may be significant biases in the selection criteria used. In order to 
 derive critical characteristics of the Milky Way's massive cluster pop
 ulation\, such as the cluster mass function and cluster lifetimes\, on
 e must estimate the characteristics of stellar clusters that are prese
 ntly missed by current surveys. Our group has taken on this daunting t
 ask to constrain the known unknowns via a sophisticated stellar cluste
 r image simulation tool\, MASSCLEAN\, we've developed. I will present 
 our preliminary efforts that make the first attempt to understand the 
 biases of current searches\, provide guidance on preparing more effect
 ive searches and our goal of ultimately estimating the characteristics
  of the massive cluster population of the entire Milky Way galaxy.<br>
 
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URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=1498
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