A non-parameter global method of interpreting star count data

Galactic structure studies involve the manipulation of star catalogues and their global comparison with sophisticated synthesis models. In this paper, we present a detailed multivariate star count analysis algorithm. By combining the photometric and kinematic information, it performs a global analysis of the multivariate star counts including magnitude, colours, and proper motions. The method allows us to constrain galactic structure parameters and derive the relative densities of different components and populations in the Galaxy. Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out to demonstrate the viability of the method. a simple example of application to real star count data is given. We found the asymmetric drift of the thick disk to be 80 +/- 10 km s(-1) at a 3 sigma level. Detailed investigations from a complete survey of several galactic directions are in preparation.