The method developed by Gouliermis et al. (2000AJ....119.1737G), for the detection and classification of stellar systems in the LMC, was used for the identification of stellar associations and open clusters in the central area of the LMC. This method was applied on the stellar catalog produced from a scanned 1.2m UK Schmidt Telescope Plate in U with a field of view almost 6.5degx6.5deg, centered on the Bar of this galaxy. The survey of the identified systems is presented here followed by the results of the investigation on their spatial distribution and their structural parameters, as were estimated according to our proposed methodology. The detected open clusters and stellar associations show to form large filamentary structures, which are often connected with the loci of HI shells. The derived mean size of the stellar associations in this survey was found to agree with the average size found previously by other authors, for stellar associations in different galaxies. This common size of about 80pc might represent a universal scale for the star formation process, whereas the parameter correlations of the detected loose systems support the distinction between open clusters and stellar associations.

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/405/111/catalog1 (Parameters for the detected intermediate systems)

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/405/111/catalog2 (Parameters for the detected unbound systems)

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/405/111/table3 (Catalog of objects found by SIMBAD located in areas covered by the intermediate and unbound systems of this survey)