FSR 1767 - a new globular cluster in the Galaxy

The globular cluster (GC) nature of the recently catalogued candidate FSR1767 is established in the present work. It turns out to be the closest GC so far detected in the Galaxy. The nature of this object is investigated by means of 2MASS colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), the stellar radial density profile (RDP) and proper motions (PM). The properties are consistent with an intermediate-metallicity ([Fe/H] ~ -1.2) GC with a well-defined turnoff (TO), red giant branch (RGB) and blue horizontal branch (HB). The distance of FSR1767 from the Sun is dsolar ~ 1.5kpc, and it is located at the Galactocentric distance RGC ~ 5.7kpc. With the space velocity components (V, W) = (184 +/- 14, -43 +/- 14)kms-1, FSR1767 appears to be a Palomar-like GC with MV ~ -4.7, which currently lies ~57pc below the Galactic plane. The RDP is well represented by a King profile with the core and tidal radii Rcore = 0.24 +/- 0.08pc and Rtidal = 3.1 +/- 1.0pc, respectively, with a small half-light radius Rh = 0.60 +/- 0.15pc. The optical absorption is moderate for an infrared GC, AV = 6.2 +/- 0.3, which together with its central direction and enhanced contamination explains why it has so far been overlooked.