New globular cluster candidates in the inner regions of M 31 and the projected density profile of the cluster system

A new search for globular clusters carried out in the inner regions of M 31 (within about 1 kpc from the nucleus, ∼ 5.5 arcmin) has yielded 3 Bo-class A, 1 B, 20 C, and 20 D new candidates never included in any previous list (see Battistini et al. 1987), and has allowed us to revise the classification of all those already detected in the same area. The total sample of possible candidates ever proposed so far has then been carefully revised, leading to the definition of the «current best sample» of M 31 cluster candidates including 341 objects. By considering the numbers of globular clusters detected in M 31 and in the Galaxy over annuli at increasing galactocentric distances, a total population ratio of about 2.5 ± 1.0 (conservative error) has been adopted, and the total number of M 31 clusters outside a radius of ∼ 20 kpc should be ∼ 65