DISCOVERY OF A LATE-TYPE STELLAR POPULATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE GOULDBELT

We report the detection of a late-type stellar population in the direc tion of the Gould Belt among stars found by cross-correlating the ROSA T All-Sky Survey with the Tycho catalog. Regions of the Gould Belt loc ated between 1 = 195 degrees and 1=15 degrees exhibit a strong density enhancement of X-ray active stars with associated X-ray luminosities L-x = 10(30.0+/-0.5) erg s(-1) typical for very young coronae. In cont rast, other regions show average galactic plane characteristics. Stars accounting for the excess appear to extend from the solar vicinity up to about 300 pc towards a quadrant centered on 1 = 240 degrees, but t heir distance distribution only extends to 180 pc from the Sun towards 1 = 330 degrees. The structure can be understood as a disk-like arran ge ment of stars having the same inclination towards the galactic plan e as the Gould Belt and extending to its outer boundary. We suggest th at these stars are the residuals of original associations and interpre t them as the late-type stellar population of the Gould Belt.