R-trees for astronomical data indexing

The use of multidimensional spatial access methods (SAMs) has been sometimes advocated in the past for astronomical database applications, in order to speed up the retrieval of data. However, they have had little practical application until now. This can be ascribed partly to the difficulty of integrating new access methods in traditional, i.e., relational, database systems. With the advent of new database management systems, which we call collectively Object Data Management Systems (ODMSs), it is now possible to effectively employ SAMs in building astronomical data management systems. A wide variety of SAMs have been introduced in the past, among these R-trees offer many advantages that make them well suited for astronomical applications. In this paper we describe the features that, in our opinion, make R-trees useful in an astronomical context and how they can be adapted to work with astronomical data.