2001/05/11 by C. Reylé, A. C. Robin · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010680
10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astron. Astrophys
arxiv created 2001/05/11 · openalex publication_date 2001/07/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2022/10/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Star counts at high and intermediate galactic latitudes, in the visible and the near infrared, are used to determine the density law and the initial mass function of the thick disc population. The combination of shallow fields dominated by stars at the turnoff with deep fields allows the determination of the thick disc mass function in the mass range 0.2-0.8 . Star counts are compared with simulations of a synthesis population model. The fit is based on a maximum likelihood criterion. The best fit model gives a scale height of 800 pc, a scale length of 2500 pc and a local density of 10-3 stars pc-3 or pc-3 for . The IMF is found to follow a power law dN/d. This is the first determination of the thick disc mass function.