Scratching the surface with TGAS and RAVE: disk moving groups in the Solar neighborhood
There is long tradition extending more than a century on the identification of moving groups in the Solar neighborhood. However, with the advent of large kinematic surveys, and especially of the upcoming Gaia data releases there is a need for more sophisticated and automated substructure finders. We analyze the TGASxRAVE dataset to identify moving groups in the Galactic disk. These groups of stars may then be used to map dynamical and star formation processes in the vicinity of the Sun. We use the ROCKSTAR algorithm, a "friends-of-friends"-like substructure finder in 6D phase-space, and analyze the Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams of the groups identified. We find 125 moving groups within 300 pc of the Sun, containing on average 50 stars, and with 3D velocity dispersions smaller than 10 km/s. Most of these groups were previously unknown. Our photometric analysis allows us to isolate a subsample of 30 statistically significant groups likely composed of stars that were born together.