2014ApJ...787...31Z

We analyze the kinematics of thick disk and halo stars observed by the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope. We have constructed a sample of 7993 F, G, and K nearby main-sequence stars (d < 2 kpc) with estimates of position (x, y, z) and space velocity (U, V, W) based on color and proper motion from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR9 catalog. Three "phase-space overdensities" are identified in (V, sqrt(U² + 2V²)) with significance levels of σ > 3. Two of them (the Hyades-Pleiades stream and the Arcturus-AF06 stream) have been identified previously. We also find evidence for a new stream (centered at V ∼ -180 km/s) in the halo. The formation mechanisms of these three streams are analyzed. Our results support the hypothesis that the Arcturus-AF06 stream and the new stream originated from the debris of a disrupted satellite, while the Hyades-Pleiades stream has a dynamical origin.