Abstract
The authors construct the observed luminosity function (LF) of a sample of stars in the low obscuration region known as Baade's Window (BW). This LF is shifted by ∼1.5 mag towards brighter Mbol with respect to that published by Frogel and Whitford (1987). This has been interpreted as produced by observations of slightly different stellar populations in the same area due to the way the stars have been selected, and to a difference in depth between both samples. The observed LF may be separated into two Gaussian components, they are respectively associated with the bulge and disc contributions. The component which the authors claim represents the disc contribution in BW may be reproduced reasonably well by projection and integration of the M giants' LF in the solar neighbourhood. This fact lends support to the authors' associating the wide component of the observed LF with a disc-like stellar population. Values for the characteristic radii for the bulge (≈0.9 kpc) and for the disc (∼2.0 kpc) are derived.
