Hundreds of new cluster candidates in the VISTA variables in the Via Lactea survey DR1

VISTA variables in the Via Lactea is an ESO Public survey dedicated to scan the bulge and an adjacent portion of the Galactic disk in the fourth quadrant using the VISTA telescope and the near-infrared camera VIRCAM. One of the leading goals of the VVV survey is to contribute to the knowledge of the star cluster population of the Milky Way. To improve the census of the Galactic star clusters, we performed a systematic scan of the JHKs images of the Galactic plane section of the VVV survey. Our detection procedure is based on a combination of superficial density maps and visual inspection of promising features in the NIR images. The material examined are color-composite images corresponding to the DR1 of VVV. We report the discovery of 493 new star cluster candidates. The analysis of the spatial distribution show that the clusters are very concentrated in he Galactic plane, presenting some local maxima around the position of large star-forming complexes, such as G305, RCW 95, and RCW 106. The vast majority of the cluster candidates are quite compact and generally surrounded by bright and/or dark nebulosities. IRAS point sources are associated with 59% of the sample, while 88% are associated with MSX point sources. GLIMPSE 8 mum images of the cluster candidates show a variety of morphologies, with 292 clusters dominated by knotty sources, while 361 clusters show some kind of nebulosity. Spatial cross-correlation with young stellar objects, masers, and extended green-object catalogs suggest that a large sample of the new cluster candidates are extremely young. In particular, 104 star clusters associated to methanol masers are excellent candidates for ongoing massive star formation. Also, there is a special set of sixteen cluster candidates that present clear signspot of star-forming activity having associated simultaneosly dark nebulae, young stellar objects, EGOs, and masers.

The little-studied cluster Berkeley 90. I. LS III +46 11: a very massive O3.5 If* + O3.5 If* binary

Context: It appears that most (if not all) massive stars are born in multiple systems. At the same time, the most massive binaries are hard to find due to their low numbers throughout the Galaxy and the implied large distances and extinctions. AIMS: We want to study: [a] LS III +46 11, identified in this paper as a very massive binary; [b] another nearby massive system, LS III +46 12; and [c] the surrounding stellar cluster, Berkeley 90. Methods: Most of the data used in this paper are multi-epoch high-S/N optical spectra though we also use Lucky Imaging and archival photometry. The spectra are reduced with devoted pipelines and processed with our own software, such as a spectroscopic-orbit code, CHORIZOS, and MGB. Results: LS III +46 11 is identified as a new very-early-O-type spectroscopic binary [O3.5 If* + O3.5 If*] and LS III +46 12 as another early O-type system [O4.5 V((f))]. We measure a 97.2-day period for LS III +46 12 and derive minimum masses of 38.80$pm$0.83 M_Sol and 35.60$pm$0.77 M_Sol for its two stars. We measure the extinction to both stars, estimate the distance, search for optical companions, and study the surrounding cluster. In doing so, a variable extinction is found as well as discrepant results for the distance. We discuss possible explanations and suggest that LS III +46 12 may be a hidden binary system, where the companion is currently undetected.

Two O2 If*/WN6 stars possibly ejected from the massive young Galactic cluster Westerlund 2

In this paper we report the identification of two new Galactic O2 If*/WN6 stars (WR20aa and WR20c), in the outskirt of the massive young stellar cluster Westerlund 2. The morphological similarity between the near-infrared spectra of the new stars with that of WR20a and WR21a (two of the most massive binaries known to date) is remarkable, indicating that probably they are also very massive stars. New optical spectroscopic observations of WR20aa suggest an intermediate O2 If*/WN6 spectral type. Based on a mosaic made from the 3.6 microns Spitzer IRAC images of the region including part of the RCW49 complex, we studied the spatial location of the new emission line stars, finding that WR20aa and WR20c are well displaced from the centre of Westerlund 2, being placed at ~ 36 pc (15.7 arcmin) and ~ 58 pc (25.0 arcmin) respectively, for an assumed heliocentric distance of 8 kpc. Also very remarkably, a radius vector connecting both stars would intercept the Westerlund 2 cluster exactly at the place where its stellar density reaches a maximum. We consequently postulate a scenario in which WR20aa and WR20c had a common origin somewhere in the cluster core, being ejected from their birthplace by dynamical interacion with some other very massive objects, perhaps during some earlier stage of the cluster evolution.