scholarly journals Local RR Lyrae stars: native and alien

2019 ◽  
Vol 492 (2) ◽  
pp. 2161-2176 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Zinn ◽  
X Chen ◽  
A C Layden ◽  
D I Casetti-Dinescu
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Angular Momenta ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Total Energies ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Lyrae Stars ◽  
Existing Data

ABSTRACT Measurements of [Fe/H] and radial velocity are presented for 89 RR Lyrae (RRL) candidates within 6 kpc of the Sun. After the removal of two suspected non-RRLs, these stars were added to an existing data base, which yielded 464 RRLs with [Fe/H] on a homogeneous scale. Using data from the Gaia satellite (Data Release 2), we calculated the positions and space velocities for this sample. These data confirm the existence of a thin disc of RRL with [α/Fe] ∼ solar. The majority of the halo RRLs with large total energies have near-zero angular momenta about the Z-axis. Kinematically, these stars closely resemble the Gaia-Sausage/Gaia-Enceladus stars that others have proposed are debris from the merger of a large galaxy with the Milky Way. The metallicity and period distributions of the RRLs and their positions in the period–amplitude diagram suggest that this disrupted galaxy was as massive as the Large Magellanic Cloud and possibly greater.

scholarly journals Tango for three: Sagittarius, LMC, and the Milky Way

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (2) ◽  
pp. 2279-2304
Author(s):  
Eugene Vasiliev ◽  
Vasily Belokurov ◽  
Denis Erkal
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Tentative Evidence ◽  
Virial Mass ◽  
Lyrae Stars ◽  
Astrometric Data ◽  
Gaia Dr2

ABSTRACT We assemble a catalogue of candidate Sagittarius stream members with 5D and 6D phase-space information, using astrometric data from Gaia DR2, distances estimated from RR Lyrae stars, and line-of-sight velocities from various spectroscopic surveys. We find a clear misalignment between the stream track and the direction of the reflex-corrected proper motions in the leading arm of the stream, which we interpret as a signature of a time-dependent perturbation of the gravitational potential. A likely cause of this perturbation is the recent passage of the most massive Milky Way satellite – the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We develop novel methods for simulating the Sagittarius stream in the presence of the LMC, using specially tailored N-body simulations and a flexible parametrization of the Milky Way halo density profile. We find that while models without the LMC can fit most stream features rather well, they fail to reproduce the misalignment and overestimate the distance to the leading arm apocentre. On the other hand, models with an LMC mass in the range $(1.3\pm 0.3)\times 10^{11}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ rectify these deficiencies. We demonstrate that the stream can not be modelled adequately in a static Milky Way. Instead, our Galaxy is required to lurch toward the massive in-falling Cloud, giving the Sgr stream its peculiar shape and kinematics. By exploring the parameter space of Milky Way potentials, we determine the enclosed mass within 100 kpc to be $(5.6\pm 0.4)\times 10^{11}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$, and the virial mass to be $(9.0\pm 1.3)\times 10^{11}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$, and find tentative evidence for a radially-varying shape and orientation of the Galactic halo.

scholarly journals The Pisces Plume and the Magellanic wake

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (1) ◽  
pp. L47-L52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasily Belokurov ◽  
Alis J Deason ◽  
Denis Erkal ◽  
Sergey E Koposov ◽  
Julio A Carballo-Bello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Magellanic Stream ◽  
Lyrae Stars

ABSTRACT Using RR Lyrae stars in the Gaia Data Release 2 and Pan-STARRS1 we study the properties of the Pisces overdensity, a diffuse substructure in the outer halo of the Milky Way. We show that along the line of sight, Pisces appears as a broad and long plume of stars stretching from 40 to 110 kpc with a steep distance gradient. On the sky Pisces’s elongated shape is aligned with the Magellanic Stream. Using follow-up VLT FORS2 spectroscopy, we have measured the velocity distribution of the Pisces candidate member stars and have shown it to be as broad as that of the Galactic halo but offset to negative velocities. Using a suite of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the structure has many properties in common with the predicted behaviour of the Magellanic wake, i.e. the Galactic halo overdensity induced by the infall of the Magellanic Clouds.

scholarly journals Reflex motion in the Milky Way stellar halo resulting from the Large Magellanic Cloud infall

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (1) ◽  
pp. L11-L16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S Petersen ◽  
Jorge Peñarrubia
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Centre Of Mass ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Disc Centre ◽  
Stellar Streams ◽  
Stellar Halo ◽  
Lyrae Stars

ABSTRACT We present the results of N-body models of the Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud system and study the kinematic reflex motion in the stellar halo owing to the barycentre displacement of the disc. In agreement with previous studies, we find that the Milky Way disc may be moving at 40 $\, {\rm km~s^{-1}}$ relative to the barycentre prior to the Large Magellanic Cloud infall. The resulting reflex motion is visible in tangential velocities of the stellar halo as a simple dipole. The signal is strongest for stars with long dynamical times, identifiable in position-velocity data as stars with large apocentres, whose dynamical memory is still well represented by the unperturbed Milky Way potential. The signal varies across the sky depending on the stellar tracer and may be up to the same magnitude as the velocity of the disc centre of mass, making reflex motion a source of bias for Milky Way potential determinations based on the modelling of stellar streams and/or smooth halo tracers such as blue horizontal branch or RR Lyrae stars.

scholarly journals The MACHO Project Large Magellanic Cloud Variable Star Inventory. XI. Frequency Analysis of the Fundamental‐Mode RR Lyrae Stars

2003 ◽  
Vol 598 (1) ◽  
pp. 597-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Alcock ◽  
D. R. Alves ◽  
A. Becker ◽  
D. Bennett ◽  
K. H. Cook ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Analysis ◽  
Fundamental Mode ◽  
Variable Star ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

scholarly journals The Milky Way Revealed by Variable Stars. I. Sample Selection of RR Lyrae Stars and Evidence for Merger History

2022 ◽  
Vol 258 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Iminhaji Ablimit ◽  
Gang Zhao ◽  
Uy. Teklimakan ◽  
Jian-Rong Shi ◽  
Kunduz Abdusalam
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Variable Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Sky Survey ◽  
Spectroscopic Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dual Origin ◽  
Lyrae Stars

Abstract In order to study the Milky Way, RR Lyrae (RRL) variable stars identified by Gaia, ASAS-SN, and ZTF sky survey projects have been analyzed as tracers in this work. Photometric and spectroscopic information of 3417 RRLs including proper motions, radial velocity, and metallcity are obtained from observational data of Gaia, LAMOST, GALAH, APOGEE, and RAVE. Precise distances of RRLs with typical uncertainties less than 3% are derived by using a recent comprehensive period–luminosity–metallicity relation. Our results from kinematical and chemical analysis provide important clues for the assembly history of the Milky Way, especially for the Gaia–Sausage ancient merger. The kinematical and chemical trends found in this work are consistent with those of recent simulations that indicated that the Gaia–Sausage merger had a dual origin in the Galactic thick disk and halo. As recent similar works have found, the halo RRL sample in this work contains a subset of radially biased orbits besides a more isotropic component. This higher orbital anisotropy component amounts to β ≃ 0.8, and it contributes between 42% and 83% of the halo RRLs at 4 < R( kpc) < 20.

scholarly journals Light Curves and Metal Abundances of RR Lyrae Variables in the Bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud

2000 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 172-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Clementini ◽  
A. Bragaglia ◽  
L. Di Fabrizio ◽  
E. Carretta ◽  
R. G. Gratton
Keyword(s):  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Photometric System ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Visual Magnitude ◽  
Metal Abundance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractThe Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is widely considered a corner-stone of the astronomical distance scale. However, a difference of 0.2−0.3 mag exists in its distance as predicted by the short and long distance scales. Distances to the LMC from Population II objects are founded on the RR Lyrae variables. We have undertaken an observational campaign devoted to the definition of the average apparent luminosity, and to the study of the mass–metallicity relation for RR Lyrae stars in the bar of the LMC. These are compared with analogous quantities for cluster RR Lyrae stars. The purpose is to see whether an intrinsic difference in luminosity, possibly due to a difference in mass, might exist between field and cluster RR Lyrae stars, which could be responsible for the well-known dichotomy between short and long distance scales. Preliminary results are presented on the V and B − V light curves, the average apparent visual magnitude, and the pulsational properties of 102 RR Lyrae stars in the bar of the LMC, observed at ESO in January 1999. The photometric data are accurately tied to the Johnson photometric system. Comparison is presented with the photometry of RR Lyrae stars in the bar of the LMC obtained by the MACHO collaboration (Alcock et al. 1996). Our sample includes 9 double-mode RR Lyrae stars selected from Alcock et al. (1997) for which an estimate of the metal abundance from the ΔS method is presented.

scholarly journals Hierarchical Bayesian model to inferPL(Z)relations usingGaiaparallaxes

2019 ◽  
Vol 623 ◽  
pp. A156 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Delgado ◽  
L. M. Sarro ◽  
G. Clementini ◽  
T. Muraveva ◽  
A. Garofalo
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Model ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Full Description ◽  
Hierarchical Bayesian ◽  
Hierarchical Bayesian Model ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Lyrae Stars

In a recent study we analysed period–luminosity–metallicity (PLZ) relations for RR Lyrae stars using theGaiaData Release 2 (DR2) parallaxes. It built on a previous work that was based on the firstGaiaData Release (DR1), and also included period–luminosity (PL) relations for Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars. The method used to infer the relations fromGaiaDR2 data and one of the methods used forGaiaDR1 data was based on a Bayesian model, the full description of which was deferred to a subsequent publication. This paper presents the Bayesian method for the inference of the parameters ofPL(Z) relations used in those studies, the main feature of which is to manage the uncertainties on observables in a rigorous and well-founded way. The method encodes the probability relationships between the variables of the problem in a hierarchical Bayesian model and infers the posterior probability distributions of thePL(Z) relationship coefficients using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation techniques. We evaluate the method with several semi-synthetic data sets and apply it to a sample of 200 fundamental and first-overtone RR Lyrae stars for whichGaiaDR1 parallaxes and literatureKs-band mean magnitudes are available. We define and test several hyperprior probabilities to verify their adequacy and check the sensitivity of the solution with respect to the prior choice. The main conclusion of this work, based on the test with semi-syntheticGaiaDR1 parallaxes, is the absolute necessity of incorporating the existing correlations between the period, metallicity, and parallax measurements in the form of model priors in order to avoid systematically biased results, especially in the case of non-negligible uncertainties in the parallaxes. The relation coefficients obtained here have been superseded by those presented in our recent paper that incorporates the findings of this work and the more recentGaiaDR2 measurements.

scholarly journals Standard Galactic field RR Lyrae II: a Gaia DR2 calibration of the period–Wesenheit–metallicity relation

2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (3) ◽  
pp. 4254-4270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian R Neeley ◽  
Massimo Marengo ◽  
Wendy L Freedman ◽  
Barry F Madore ◽  
Rachael L Beaton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Distance Modulus ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Galactic Field ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars ◽  
Distance Indicators ◽  
Made In

ABSTRACT RR Lyrae stars have long been popular standard candles, but significant advances in methodology and technology have been made in recent years to increase their precision as distance indicators. We present multiwavelength (optical UBVRcIc and Gaia G, BP, RP; near-infrared JHKs; mid-infrared [3.6], [4.5]) period–luminosity–metallicity (PLZ), period–Wesenheit–metallicity (PWZ) relations, calibrated using photometry obtained from the Carnegie RR Lyrae Program and parallaxes from the Gaia second data release for 55 Galactic field RR Lyrae stars. The metallicity slope, which has long been predicted by theoretical relations, can now be measured in all passbands. The scatter in the PLZ relations is on the order of 0.2 mag, and is still dominated by uncertainties in the parallaxes. As a consistency check of our PLZ relations, we also measure the distance modulus to the globular cluster M4, the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, and our results are in excellent agreement with estimates from previous studies.

scholarly journals Near-Infrared photometry of the LMC cluster Reticulum

2004 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 189-192
Author(s):  
M. Dall’Ora ◽  
G. Bono ◽  
J. Storm ◽  
V. Ripepi ◽  
V. Testa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Reduction ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Distance Estimate ◽  
Infrared Photometry ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Lyrae Stars

AbstractWe present U, B, V, I (SUSI@NTT) and J,Ks (SOFI@NTT) photometry of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) cluster Reticulum. The observing strategy and data reduction (DAOPHOTII/ALLFRAME) allowed us to reach an accuracy of the order of 0.01 – 0.03 mag in all the bands at limiting magnitudes typical of RR Lyrae stars. Reticulum hosts a sizable sample of RR Lyrae stars (32), and we supply an accurate distance estimate using the RR Lyrae K-band Period-Luminosity-Metallicity (PLZK) relation. This method presents several advantages when compared with the MV vs [Fe/H] relation, since it is only marginally affected by off-ZAHB evolutionary effects and reddening corrections.

scholarly journals Calibration of the Cepheid Distance Scale

1993 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Wolfgang P. Gieren ◽  
Pascal Fouqué
Keyword(s):  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Distance Scale ◽  
Absolute Calibration ◽  
Rr Lyrae Stars ◽  
Sn 1987A ◽  
Rr Lyrae ◽  
Calibration Sets ◽  
Lyrae Stars ◽  
Zero Points ◽  
Good Agreement

AbstractThe absolute calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL) relation with galactic Cepheids is discussed. Various methods, most importantly the cluster ZAMS-fitting scale and the Baade-Wesselink scale are found to yield PL zero points which agree within ∼ ± 0.1 mag. The present Cepheid calibration sets the Large Magellanic Cloud at μ0 (LMC) = 18.6 ± 0.1 mag, in good agreement with the distance derived from SN 1987A and other methods except RR Lyrae stars which seem to give a shorter distance scale.

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