# On the existence of young embedded clusters at high Galactic latitude

## TL;DR

This study critically examines nine purported young stellar clusters at high Galactic latitudes, finding no evidence of early-type stars or significant density enhancements, suggesting they are not genuine young clusters.

## Contribution

The paper provides a detailed analysis showing that previously identified high-latitude clusters lack evidence of being young stellar groups, challenging earlier claims.

## Key findings

- No early-type stars detected in the groups
- Color-magnitude diagrams match unreddened late-type stars
- Most groups are not significant density enhancements

## Abstract

Careful analyses of photometric and star count data available for the nine putative young clusters identified by Camargo et al. (2015, 2016) at high Galactic latitudes reveal that none of the groups contain early-type stars, and most are not significant density enhancements above field level. 2MASS colours for stars in the groups match those of unreddened late-type dwarfs and giants, as expected for contamination by (mostly) thin disk objects. A simulation of one such field using only typical high latitude foreground stars yields a colour-magnitude diagram that is very similar to those constructed by Camargo et al. (2015, 2016) as evidence for their young groups as well as the means of deriving their reddenings and distances. Although some of the fields are coincident with clusters of galaxies, one must conclude that there is no evidence that the putative clusters are extremely young stellar groups.