scholarly journals Looking for building blocks of the Galactic halo: variable stars in the Fornax, Bootes I, Canes Venatici II dwarfs and in NGC 2419

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S266) ◽  
pp. 411-411
Author(s):  
Claudia Greco ◽  
Gisella Clementini ◽  
E. V. Held ◽  
E. Poretti ◽  
M. Catelan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Image Subtraction ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractΛ cold-dark-matter hierarchical models of galaxy formation suggest that the halo of the Milky Way (MW) has been assembled, at least in part, through accretion of protogalactic fragments partially resembling the present-day dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites of the MW. Investigation of the stellar populations of the MW's globular clusters (GCs) and dSph companions can thus provide excellent tests to infer the dominant Galaxy-formation scenario, whether merger/accretion or cloud collapse. Pulsating variable stars offer a very powerful tool in this context, since variables of different types allow tracing the different stellar generations in a galaxy and to reconstruct the galaxy's star-formation history and assembly back to the first epochs of galaxy formation. In particular, the RR Lyrae stars, belonging to the old population (t > 10 Gyr), witnessed the epoch of halo formation, and thus hold a crucial role to identify the MW satellites that may have contributed to build up the Galactic halo. In the MW, most GCs with an RR Lyrae population sharply divide into two distinct groups (Oosterhoff types I and II) based on the mean periods and relative proportion of fundamental-mode (RRab) and first-overtone (RRc) RR Lyrae stars. On the other hand, the Galactic-halo field RR Lyrae stars show a dominance of Oosterhoff I properties. Here, we investigate the Oosterhoff properties of a number of different stellar systems, starting from relatively undisturbed dwarf galaxies (the Fornax dSph and its globular clusters), through distorted and tidally disrupting ones (the Bootes and Canes Venatici II dSphs), to possible final relics of the disruption process (the Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419). We are addressing the crucial question of whether the RR Lyrae pulsation properties in these systems conform to the Oosterhoff dichotomy characterizing the MW variables. If they do not, the Galaxy's halo cannot have been assembled by dSph-like protogalactic fragments resembling the present-day dSph companions of the MW. We have reduced and combined long time series from different telescopes, both ground- and space-based. Variable stars have been detected with image-subtraction techniques using the package isis2.1. Periods, amplitudes and Oosterhoff type for all variable stars, as well as color–magnitude diagrams of the stellar populations are discussed for each stellar cluster analyzed.

scholarly journals RR Lyrae Stars in Globular Clusters

2000 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
Alistair R. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Technical Aspects ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractOf the several types of variable stars that occur in globular clusters, RR Lyrae stars have deservedly received the most attention. These stars are ideally suited for comparisons between evolution and pulsation theory, they play a prominent role in distance determinations, and are valuable tracers of the oldest stellar populations. After a brief discussion of technical aspects, we review some of the recent observational work.

scholarly journals General Properties of the Two Groups of Globular Clusters and Their Variable Stars

1975 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 541-543
Author(s):  
A. V. Mironov ◽  
N. N. Samus'
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
General Properties ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

The dependences of the numbers of variable stars in globular clusters on the chemical composition are studied. For given metallicity the numbers of RR Lyrae stars reduced to some definite total number of stars in the cluster are different for the two groups of globular clusters introduced by Mironov.

scholarly journals Search for Variables in the Galactic Globular Clusters NGC 6544 and NGC 6642

1993 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 337-337
Author(s):  
Martha L. Hazen
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Slow Variable ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Horizontal Branch ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
A Value ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Period Variable ◽  
Lyrae Stars

A search for variable stars in the globular cluster NGC 6544 has revealed only one possible short period variable within the tidal radius of the cluster. A search in NGC 6642 yielded 16 new RR Lyrae stars within the tidal radius and 5 new field RRs. The previously discovered (Hoffleit 1972) V1 is a slow variable, and V2 is an RR Lyrae star. Photometry of the variables within the tidal radius gives a mean B for the horizontal branch of < B > = 17.0 mag. With E(B – V) = 0.37 mag and (B – V) = 0.35 mag for RR Lyraes, a value for V(HB) = 16.3 mag is derived. This is about one mag fainter than previous estimates (Webbink 1985), and places NGC 6642 at a distance of approximately 7.9 kpc.

scholarly journals RR Lyrae to understand the Galactic halo

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S317) ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Giuliana Fiorentino
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Halo Structure ◽  
Intrinsic Nature ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Dwarf Spheroidals ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractWe present recent results obtained using old variable RR Lyrae stars on the Galactic halo structure and its connection with nearby dwarf galaxies. We compare the period and period-amplitude distributions for a sizeable sample of fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars (RRab) in dwarf spheroidals (~1300 stars) with those in the Galactic halo (~16'000 stars) and globular clusters (~1000 stars). RRab in dwarfs –as observed today– do not appear to follow the pulsation properties shown by those in the Galactic halo, nor they have the same properties as RRab in globulars. Thanks to the OGLE experiment we extended our comparison to massive metal–rich satellites like the dwarf irregular Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf spheroidal. These massive and more metal–rich stellar systems likely have contributed to the Galactic halo formation more than classical dwarf spheroidals.Finally, exploiting the intrinsic nature of RR Lyrae as distance indicators we were able to study the period and period amplitude distributions of RRab within the Halo. It turned out that the inner and the outer Halo do show a difference that may suggest a different formation scenario (in situ vs accreted).

scholarly journals RR Lyrae Variable Stars and the Distance Scale

1978 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 53-57
Author(s):  
S. V. M. Clube ◽  
J. A. Dawe
Keyword(s):  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Solar Neighborhood ◽  
Royal Greenwich Observatory ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars ◽  
Kinematical Parameters

A statistical parallax algorithm (Clube and Dave, 1978a,b), using the technique of maximum likelihood, has been applied to a set of 103 ‘ab’ - RR Lyrae stars in the solar neighborhood (r 2&lt;kpc), using observational data from the Royal Greenwich Observatory Bulletins. A second set of 130 ‘ab’ - RR Lyrae stars has been kindly supplied to us by Dr. A. Heck (Université de Liège) to permit a comparison between our analyses. The purpose of this investigation was:(a) to investigate the variations of kinematical parameters and absolute luminosities of these stars as functions of Preston's index ΔS and of log (Period).(b) to identify those RR Lyrae stars in the solar neighborhood which most closely resemble those in the galactic halo, those near the galactic center, and those in the Magellanic Clouds.

scholarly journals LSST Observations of RR Lyrae Stars for Mapping the Galactic Halo

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S277) ◽  
pp. 300-304
Author(s):  
Hakeem M. Oluseyi ◽  
Andrew C. Becker ◽  
Christopher C. Culliton ◽  
Muhammad Furqan ◽  
Keri L. Hoadley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Local Group ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Chemical Compositions ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractThe Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is an anticipated to undertake a 10–year, 3π steradian survey that promises to observe millions of new periodic variable stars. We report on a study to determine the efficiency of the LSST to recover the light curve properties of RR Lyrae stars. An LSST light curve simulation tool was used to sample input idealized light curves or RR Lyrae stars observed in SDSS Stripe 82 data, returning each as it would have been observed by LSST, including realistic photometric scatter, limiting magnitudes, and telescope downtime. Our results show that the LSST will be capable of mapping the spatial distributions and chemical compositions of halo stellar overdensities using RR Lyrae discovered across 3π steradians and out to nearly 1.5 Mpc. LSST will thus enable the mapping of halo merger streams, the discovery of new dwarf galaxies, and the mapping galactic halos throughout the Local Group galaxies.

scholarly journals CCD Photometry of RR Lyrae Stars in NGC 6388 and M15

1993 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 338-338
Author(s):  
N.A. Silbermann ◽  
H.A. Smith ◽  
M. Bolte
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Ccd Photometry ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractWe present preliminary results of a program of CCD photometry of RR Lyrae variable stars in the globular clusters NGC 6388 and M15.

UBV Magnitudes and Colours of 62 RR Lyrae Stars in ω Centauri (NGC 5139)

1973 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 88-94
Author(s):  
E. H. Geyer
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Horizontal Branch ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Horizontal Branch Stars ◽  
Photoelectric Measurements ◽  
Lyrae Stars

It has been shown by the author (Geyer, 1967), and independently by Dickens and Woolley (1967), that there occur horizontal branch stars well within the RR Lyrae variable gap of the c–m-diagram of ω Centauri. Variability of these objects is not known, and presumably is unlikely, because the cluster is so well studied for variable stars. For the observationally best studied globular clusters M3, M13, M15 and M92 (Sandage, 1969), this phenomenon is not found. The author’s original published c–w-diagram of NGC 5139 showed about 10 stars with (B–V)≥0.2 and V-magnitudes comparable with those of RR Lyrae stars of the cluster. Unpublished photoelectric measurements of some of these stars, carried out in 1968 with the 40-in photometric reflector of ESO by the author, support this finding. Also the study of blue horizontal branch stars by Newell, Rodgers and Searle (1969) of the Herst-monceux catalog of ω Centauri (Woolley et al., 1966) confirms these results, the importance of which for the understanding of the horizontal branch stars and RR Lyrae variables is obvious.

The VVV Survey: Globular Clusters and more

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S353) ◽  
pp. 31-34
Author(s):  
Dante Minniti ◽  
María Gabriela Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Adjacent Section ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Near Ir ◽  
Areal Coverage ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractIn the efforts to map the Milky Way structure, the central regions have remained very difficult to probe. The VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea Survey (VVV) is a near-IR variability Survey that scans 560 sq.deg. across the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the southern mid-plane. The main goal of the VVV Survey is to build a 3D map of the structure of the inner Galaxy and characterize its stellar populations. This survey has discovered different kinds of objects, such as globular clusters, Microlensing events, RR Lyrae stars, Cepheids, WITs, among others. The extension of the Survey (VVVX) is observing until 2020, tripling the areal coverage, and complementing the variability studies done by the VVV Survey.

scholarly journals Variable Stars and Evolution in Globular Clusters

1973 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 187-195
Author(s):  
Pierre Demarque
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Absolute Magnitude ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars ◽  
Distance Indicators

Traditionally, cluster variables have been used as distance indicators and have in this sense played an important role in our understanding of stellar evolution. In particular, the determination of the distance moduli of globular clusters and of the absolute magnitude of the main sequence turnoff, thus yielding the ages of the cluster, have relied heavily in the past on observations of RR Lyrae stars.

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