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RR Lyrae Atmospherics: Wrinkles Old and New. A Preview
I report some results of an echelle spectroscopic survey of RR Lyraestars begun in 2006 that I presented in my Henry Norris Lecture of 2010January 4. Topics include (1) atmospheric velocity gradients, (2)phase-dependent envelope turbulence as it relates to Peterson'sdiscoveries of axial rotation on the horizontal branch and to Stothers'explanation of the Blazhko effect, (3) the three apparitions of hydrogenemission during a pulsation cycle, (4) the occurrence of He I lines inemission and absorption, (5) detection of He II emission and metallicline doubling in Blazhko stars, and finally (6) speculation about whathelium observations of RR Lyrae stars in omega Centauri might tell usabout the putative helium populations and the horizontal branch of thatstrange globular cluster.This paper preserves the substance and style of remarks that accompaniedthe author's PowerPoint presentation of the 2009 Henry Norris Russelllecture.
| Helium lines in RR Lyrae spectra
Context: During a comparative study of atmospheric phenomena that occurduring the pulsation cycles of 10 RRab stars I unexpectedly found heliumlines in emission and/or absorption in all 10 stars during rising light.The progression of events in the time-evolution of the helium spectrumdiffers in detail from star to star, but 9 of the 10 stars share anumber of general characteristics, illustrated approximately by thebehavior of RV Oct described in this Note. Aims: Mylong-term aim is to provide a comprehensive empirical description ofatmospheric phenomena that take place during the pulsation cycles ofRRab stars. The short-term goal of this paper is to inform readers thatmeasurements of helium lines place new constraints on shock-wave modelsfor RRab stars. Methods: Results presented here are based onmeasurements and analysis of observations made with the echellespectrograph of the du Pont 2.5-m telescope at Las CampanasObservatory. Results: A general pattern of behavior emergesalbeit with significant star-to-star variation. He I ? 5376 (D3)appears first as a pure emission feature, unlike the Balmer lines forwhich the emission profile is always overlain initially by strongredward-displaced absorption. The phase of maximum D3 emission coincidesapproximately with that of H?, but the duration of conspicuous D3emission (in excess of the local continuum) is less than 15 mn,approximately half the duration of similarly defined H? emission.The emission phase is followed by the appearance, first, ofredward-displaced absorption, and shortly thereafter by a secondviolet-displaced absorption component that strengthens with advancingphase. Both absorption components gradually weaken and disappear afterradial-velocity minimum, which lags luminosity maximum by no more than0.01P as discussed in Sect. 3. However, bona fide He I ? 5876emission flux in excess of the local continuum flux reappears nearmaximum light for some stars in the sample and persists for about 45 mn.The radial velocities of the initial and final He I ? 5876emission features differ little from the time-average value of themetallic-line radial velocities for RV Octantis. However, the absorptionfeatures appear to distort the location of the emission centroid, whenthey are strong.
| Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Pisces Overdensity
We present spectroscopic confirmation of the "Pisces Overdensity," alsoknown as "Structure J," a photometric overdensity of RR Lyrae starsdiscovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at an estimated photometricdistance of ~85 kpc. We measure radial velocities for eight RR Lyraestars within Pisces. We find that five of the eight stars haveheliocentric radial velocities within a narrow range of -87 kms-1 < vr < -67 km s-1,suggesting that the photometric overdensity is mainly due to aphysically associated system, probably a dwarf galaxy or a disruptedgalaxy. Two of the remaining three stars differ from one another by only9 km s-1, but it would be premature to identify them asa second system.This Letter includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopeslocated at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.
| A new method for determining physical parameters of fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars from multicolour light curves
We present a new method for determining physical parameters of RRabvariables exclusively from multicolour light curves. Our method is aninverse photometric Baade-Wesselink analysis which, using a non-linearleast-squares algorithm, searches for the effective temperature(Teff) and pulsational velocity (Vp) curves andother physical parameters that best fit the observed light curves,utilizing synthetic colours and bolometric corrections from staticatmosphere models. The Teff and Vp curves areinitially derived from empirical relations then they are varied by thefitting algorithm. The method yields the variations and the absolutevalues of the radius, the effective temperature, the visual brightnessand the luminosity of individual objects. Distance and mass are alsodetermined. The method is tested on nine RRab stars subjected toBaade-Wesselink analyses earlier by several authors. The physicalparameters derived by our method using only the light-curve data ofthese stars are well within their possible ranges defined by directBaade-Wesselink and other techniques. A new empirical relation betweenthe IC magnitude and the pulsational velocity is alsopresented, which allows to construct the Vp curve of an RRabstar purely from photometric observations to an accuracy of about 3.5kms-1.
| An extensive photometric study of the Blazhko RR Lyrae star MW Lyr - II. Changes in the physical parameters
The analysis of the multicolour photometric observations of MW Lyr, alarge modulation amplitude Blazhko variable, shows for the first timehow the mean global physical parameters vary during the Blazhko cycle.About 1-2 per cent changes in the mean radius, luminosity and surfaceeffective temperature are detected. The mean radius and temperaturechanges are in good accordance with pulsation model results, which showthat these parameters do indeed vary within this order of magnitude ifthe amplitude of the pulsation changes significantly. We interpret thephase modulation of the pulsation to be a consequence of period changes.Its magnitude corresponds exactly what one expects from the detectedchanges of the mean radius assuming that the pulsation constant remainsthe same during the modulation. Our results indicate that during themodulation the pulsation remains purely radial, and the underlyingmechanism is most probably a periodic perturbation of the stellarluminosity with the modulation period.Based on observations collected mainly with the automatic 60-cmtelescope of Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Svábhegy.E-mail: jurcsik@konkoly.hu
| The luminosities and distance scales of type II Cepheid and RR Lyrae variables
Infrared and optical absolute magnitudes are derived for the type IICepheids κ Pav and VY Pyx using revised Hipparcos parallaxes andfor κ Pav, V553 Cen and SW Tau from pulsational parallaxes.Revised Hipparcos and HST parallaxes for RR Lyrae agree satisfactorilyand are combined in deriving absolute magnitudes. Phase-corrected J, Hand Ks mags are given for 142 Hipparcos RR Lyraes based onTwo-Micron All-Sky Survey observations. Pulsation and trigonometricalparallaxes for classical Cepheids are compared to establish the bestvalue for the projection factor (p) used in pulsational analyses.The MV of RR Lyrae itself is 0.16 +/- 0.12 mag brighter thanpredicted from an MV-[Fe/H] relation based on RR Lyrae starsin the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) at a modulus of 18.39 +/- 0.05 asfound from classical Cepheids. This is consistent with the prediction ofCatelan & Cortés that it is overluminous for its metallicity.The results for the metal- and carbon-rich Galactic disc stars, V553 Cenand SW Tau, each with small internal errors (+/-0.08 mag) have a meandeviation of only 0.02 mag from the period-luminosity (PL) relationestablished by Matsunaga et al. for type II Cepheids in globularclusters and with a zero-point based on the same LMC-scale. Comparingdirectly the luminosities of these two stars with published data on typeII Cepheids in the LMC and in the Galactic bulge leads to an LMC modulusof 18.37 +/- 0.09 and a distance to the Galactic Centre of R0= 7.64 +/- 0.21kpc. The data for VY Pyx agree with these results withinthe uncertainties set by its parallax. Evidence is presented thatκ Pav may have a close companion and possible implications of thisare discussed. If the pulsational parallax of this star is incorporatedin the analyses, the distance scales just discussed will be increased by~0.15 +/- 0.15 mag. V553 Cen and SW Tau show that at optical wavelengthsPL relations are wider for field stars than for those in globularclusters. This is probably due to a narrower range of masses in thelatter case.
| Pulsational and evolutionary analysis of the double-mode RR Lyrae star BSCom
We derive the basic physical parameters of the field double-mode RRLyrae star BSCom from its observed periods and the requirement ofconsistency between the pulsational and evolutionary constraints. Byusing the current solar-scaled horizontal branch evolutionary models ofPietrinferni et al. and our linear non-adiabatic purely radiativepulsational models, we get M/Msolar = 0.698 +/- 0.004,log(L/Lsolar) = 1.712 +/- 0.005, Teff = 6840 +/-14K, [Fe/H] = -1.67 +/- 0.01, where the errors are standard deviationsassuming uniform age distribution along the full range of uncertainty inage. The last two parameters are in a good agreement with the onesderived from the observed BVIC colours and the updated ATLAS9stellar atmosphere models. We get Teff = 6842 +/- 10K, [Fe/H]= -1.58 +/- 0.11, where the errors are purely statistical ones. It isremarkable that the derived parameters are nearly independent of stellarage at early evolutionary stages. Later stages, corresponding to theevolution towards the asymptotic giant branch, are most probablyexcluded because the required high temperatures are less likely tosatisfy the constraints posed by the colours. We also show that ourconclusions are only weakly sensitive to non-linear period shiftspredicted by current hydrodynamical models.
| The GEOS RR Lyr Survey
Not Available
| Photoelectric Minima of Selected Eclipsing Binaries and Maxima of Pulsating Stars
Not Available
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Proper identification of RR Lyrae stars brighter than 12.5 mag
RR Lyrae stars are of great importance for investigations of Galacticstructure. However, a complete compendium of all RR-Lyraes in the solarneighbourhood with accurate classifications and coordinates does notexist to this day. Here we present a catalogue of 561 local RR-Lyraestars (V_max ≤ 12.5 mag) according to the magnitudes given in theCombined General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) and 16 fainter ones.The Tycho2 catalogue contains ≃100 RR Lyr stars. However, manyobjects have inaccurate coordinates in the GCVS, the primary source ofvariable star information, so that a reliable cross-identification isdifficult. We identified RR Lyrae from both catalogues based on anintensive literature search. In dubious cases we carried out photometryof fields to identify the variable. Mennessier & Colome (2002,A&A, 390, 173) have published a paper with Tyc2-GCVSidentifications, but we found that many of their identifications arewrong.
| RR Lyrae stars: kinematics, orbits and z-distribution
RR Lyrae stars in the Milky Way are good tracers to study the kinematicbehaviour and spatial distribution of older stellar populations. Arecently established well documented sample of 217 RR Lyr stars withV<12.5 mag, for which accurate distances and radial velocities aswell as proper motions from the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues areavailable, has been used to reinvestigate these structural parameters.The kinematic parameters allowed to calculate the orbits of the stars.Nearly 1/3 of the stars of our sample have orbits staying near the MilkyWay plane. Of the 217 stars, 163 have halo-like orbits fulfilling one ofthe following criteria: Θ < 100 km s-1, orbiteccentricity >0.4, and normalized maximum orbital z-distance>0.45. Of these stars roughly half have retrograde orbits. Thez-distance probability distribution of this sample shows scale heightsof 1.3±0.1 kpc for the disk component and 4.6±0.3 kpc forthe halo component. With our orbit statistics method we found a(vertical) spatial distribution which, out to z=20 kpc, is similar tothat found with other methods. This distribution is also compatible withthe ones found for blue (HBA and sdB) halo stars. The circular velocityΘ, the orbit eccentricity, orbit z-extent and [Fe/H] are employedto look for possible correlations. If any, it is that the metal poorstars with [Fe/H] <1.0 have a wide symmetric distribution aboutΘ=0, thus for this subsample on average a motion independent ofdisk rotation. We conclude that the Milky Way possesses a halo componentof old and metal poor stars with a scale height of 4-5 kpc having randomorbits. The presence in our sample of a few metal poor stars (thus partof the halo population) with thin disk-like orbits is statistically notsurprising. The midplane density ratio of halo to disk stars is found tobe 0.16, a value very dependent on proper sample statistics.
| Iron abundances derived from RR Lyrae light curves and low-dispersion spectroscopy
With the aid of the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) database on theGalactic field, we compare the iron abundances of fundamental mode RRLyrae stars derived from the Fourier parameters with those obtained fromlow-dispersion spectroscopy. We show from a set of 79 stars, distinctfrom the original calibrating sample of the Fourier method and selectedwithout quality control, that almost all discrepant estimates are theresults of some defects or peculiarities either in the photometry or inthe spectroscopy. Omitting objects deviating by more than 0.4 dex, theremaining subsample of 64 stars yields Fourier abundances that fit thespectroscopic ones with σ=0.20 dex. Other, more stringentselection criteria and different Fourier decompositions lead to smallersubsamples and concomitant better agreement, down to σ=0.16 dex.Except perhaps for two variables among the 163 stars, comprised of theASAS variables and those of the original calibrating set of the Fouriermethod, all discrepant values can be accounted for by observationalnoise and insufficient data coverage. We suggest that the agreement canbe further improved when new, more accurate spectroscopic data becomeavailable for a test with the best photometric data. As a by-product ofthis analysis, we also compute revised periods and select Blazhkovariables.
| Predicted and Empirical Radii of RR Lyrae Stars
We present new theoretical period-radius-metallicity relations for RRLyrae stars. Current predictions are based on a large set of nonlinear,convective models that cover a broad range of chemical abundances andinput parameters. We also provide new and homogeneous estimates ofangular diameters for a sample of field RR Lyrae stars using a recentcalibration of the Barnes-Evans surface brightness relation. Predictedand empirical radii are, within the errors, in reasonable agreement, butin the short-period range the latter present a larger scatter. As aworking hypothesis we suggest that this discrepancy might be due to theoccurrence either of nonlinear features such as bumps or a steep risingbranch. A new distance determination for RR Lyr itself is in very goodagreement with the Hubble Space Telescope trigonometric parallax andwith the pulsation parallax.
| Metallicity Dependence of the Blazhko Effect
The microlensing surveys, such as OGLE or MACHO, have led to thediscovery of thousands of RRLyr stars in the Galactic bulge and in theMagellanic Clouds, allowing for detailed investigation of these stars,especially the still mysterious Blazhko phenomenon. Higher incidencerate of Blazhko (BL) variables in the more metal-rich Galactic bulgethan in the LMC, suggests that occurrence of Blazhko effect correlateswith metallicity. To investigate this problem, we calibrate thephotometric method of determining the metallicity of RRab stars in theI-band and apply it to the OGLE Galactic bulge and LMC data. In bothsystems, metallicities of non Blazhko and Blazhko variables are close toeach other. The LMC Blazhko pulsators prefer slightly lowermetallicities. The different metallicities of the Galactic bulge and theLMC, cannot explain the observed incidence rates.As a by-product of our metallicity estimates, we investigate theluminosity-metallicity relation, finding a steep dependence of theluminosity on [Fe/H].
| Large-Amplitude Ultraviolet Variations in the RR Lyrae Star ROTSE-I J143753.84+345924.8
The NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite has obtainedsimultaneous near-ultraviolet (NUV) and far-ultraviolet (FUV) lightcurves of the ROTSE-I Catalog RR Lyrae type ab variable starJ143753.84+345924.8. A series of 38 GALEX Deep Imaging Surveyobservations well distributed in phase within the star's 0.56432 dayperiod shows an AB = 4.9 mag variation in the FUV (1350-1750 Å)band and an AB = 1.8 mag variation in the NUV (1750-2750 Å) band,compared with only a 0.8 mag variation in the broad, unfiltered ROTSE-I(~4500-10,000 Å) band. These GALEX UV observations are the firstto reveal a large RR Lyrae amplitude variation at wavelengths below 1800Å. We compare the GALEX and ROTSE-I observations to predictionsmade by recent Kurucz stellar atmosphere models. We use publishedphysical parameters for the comparable period (0.57433 days),well-observed RR Lyrae star WY Antliae to compute predicted FUV, NUV,and ROTSE-I light curves for J143753.84+345924.8. The observed lightcurves agree with the Kurucz predictions for [Fe/H]=-1.25 to within AB =0.2 mag in the GALEX NUV and ROTSE-I bands and to within 0.5 mag in theFUV. At all metallicities between solar and 1/100 solar, the Kuruczmodels predict 6-8 mag of variation at wavelengths between 1000 and 1700Å. Other variable stars with similar temperature variations, suchas Cepheids, should also have large-amplitude FUV light curves,observable during the ongoing GALEX imaging surveys.
| The Metallicity Dependence of the Fourier Components of RR Lyrae Light Curves Is the Oosterhoff-Arp-Preston Period Ratio Effect in Disguise
The correlation of particular Fourier components of the light curves ofRR Lyrae variables with metallicity, discovered by Simon and later byKovacs and his coworkers, is shown to have the same explanation as theperiod ratios (period shifts in logP) between RRab Lyrae variables thathave the same colors, amplitudes, and light-curve shapes but differentmetallicities. A purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the modelthat predicts the period-metallicity relations in the mediatingparameters of colors, amplitudes, and light-curve shapes also explainsthe Simon-Kovacs et al. correlation between period, φ31,and metallicity. The proof is made by demonstrating that the combinationof the first- and third-phase terms in a Fourier decomposition of RRablight curves, called φ31 by Simon & Lee, variesmonotonically across the RR Lyrae instability strip in the same way thatamplitude, color, and rise time vary with period within the strip. Thepremise of the model is that if horizontal branches at the RR Lyraestrip are stacked in luminosity according to the metallicity, then therenecessarily must be a logperiod shift between RR Lyrae stars withdifferent metallicities at the same φ31 values. However,there are exceptions to the model. The two metal-rich globular clustersNGC 6388 and NGC 6441, with anomalously long periods of their RR Lyraestars for their amplitudes, violate the period-metallicity correlationsboth in amplitudes and in φ31 values (for NGC 6441 whereφ31 data exist). The cause must be related to theanomalously bright horizontal branches in these two clusters for theirmetallicities. The effect of luminosity evolution away from the zero-agehorizontal branch, putatively causing noise in the metallicity equation,is discussed. It is clearly seen in the amplitude-period correlationsbut apparently does not exist in the φ31-periodcorrelation in the data for the globular cluster M3 analyzed by Jurcsikand coworkers and by Cacciari and Fusi Pecci, for reasons not presentlyunderstood. Clarification can be expected from study of precisionphotometric data of evolved RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters ofdifferent metallicity when their Fourier components are known.
| A pulsational approach to near-infrared and visual magnitudes of RR Lyr stars
In this paper, we present an improved theoretical scenario concerningnear-infrared and visual magnitudes of RR Lyr variables, as based onup-to-date pulsating models. New relations connecting V and K absolutemagnitudes with periods, mass, luminosity and metal content arediscussed separately for fundamental and first-overtone pulsators. Wealso show that the V-K colours are predicted to supply tight constraintson the pulsator intrinsic luminosity. On this basis, we revisit the caseof the prototype variable RR Lyr, showing that the parallax inferred bythis new pulsational approach appears in close agreement with HubbleSpace Telescope absolute parallax. Moreover, available K and Vmeasurements for field and cluster RR Lyr variables with known reddeningand metal content are used to derive a relation connecting the Kabsolute magnitude to period and metallicity (MK-[Fe/H]-logP)as well as a new calibration of the MV-[Fe/H] relation. Thecomparison between theoretical prescriptions and observations suggeststhat RR Lyr stars in the field and in galactic globular clusters (GGCs)should have quite similar evolutionary histories. The comparison betweentheory and observations also discloses a general agreement that supportsthe reliability of the current pulsational scenario. On the contrary,current empirical absolute magnitudes based on the Baade-Wesselink (BW)method suggest relations with a zero-point which is fainter than ispredicted by pulsation models, together with a milder metallicitydependence. However, preliminary results based on a new calibration ofthe BW method provided by Cacciari et al. (2000) for RR Cet and SW Andappear in a much better agreement with the pulsational predictions.
| Consistent distances from Baade-Wesselink analyses of Cepheids and RR Lyraes
By using the same algorithm in the Baade-Wesselink analyses of GalacticRR Lyrae and Cepheid variables, it is shown that, within 0.03-mag1σ statistical error, they yield the same distance modulus for theLarge Magellanic Cloud. By fixing the zero-point of thecolour-temperature calibration to those of the current infrared fluxmethods and using updated period-luminosity-colour relations, we get anaverage value of 18.55 for the true distance modulus of the LMC.
| Subsystems of RR Lyrae Variable Stars in Our Galaxy
We have used published, high-accuracy, ground-based and satelliteproper-motion measurements, a compilation of radial velocities, andphotometric distances to compute the spatial velocities and Galacticorbital elements for 174 RR Lyrae (ab) variable stars in the solarneighborhood. The computed orbital elements and published heavy-elementabundances are used to study relationships between the chemical,spatial, and kinematic characteristics of nearby RR Lyrae variables. Weobserve abrupt changes of the spatial and kinematic characteristics atthe metallicity [Fe/H]≈-0.95 and also when the residual spatialvelocities relative to the LSR cross the critical value V res≈290km/s. This provides evidence that the general population of RR Lyraestars is not uniform and includes at least three subsystems occupyingdifferent volumes in the Galaxy. Based on the agreement between typicalparameters for corresponding subsystems of RR Lyrae stars and globularclusters, we conclude that metal-rich stars and globular clusters belongto a rapidly rotating and fairly flat, thick-disk subsystem with a largenegative vertical metallicity gradient. Objects with larger metaldeficiencies can, in turn, be subdivided into two populations, but usingdifferent criteria for stars and clusters. We suggest that field starswith velocities below the critical value and clusters with extremelyblue horizontal branches form a spherical, slowly rotating subsystem ofthe protodisk halo, which has a common origin with the thick disk; thissubsystem has small but nonzero radial and vertical metallicitygradients. The dimensions of this subsystem, estimated from theapogalactic radii of orbits of field stars, are approximately the same.Field stars displaying more rapid motion and clusters with redderhorizontal branches constitute the spheroidal subsystem of the accretedouter halo, which is approximately a factor of three larger in size thanthe first two subsystems. It has no metallicity gradients; most of itsstars have eccentric orbits, many display retrograde motion in theGalaxy, and their ages are comparatively low, supporting the hypothesisthat the objects in this subsystem had an extragalactic origin.
| Bias Properties of Extragalactic Distance Indicators. XI. Methods to Correct for Observational Selection Bias for RR Lyrae Absolute Magnitudes from Trigonometric Parallaxes Expected from the Full-Sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer Satellite
A short history is given of the development of the correction forobservation selection bias inherent in the calibration of absolutemagnitudes using trigonometric parallaxes. The developments have beendue to Eddington, Jeffreys, Trumpler & Weaver, Wallerstein,Ljunggren & Oja, West, Lutz & Kelker, after whom the bias isnamed, Turon Lacarrieu & Crézé, Hanson, Smith, andmany others. As a tutorial to gain an intuitive understanding of severalcomplicated trigonometric bias problems, we study a toy bias model of aparallax catalog that incorporates assumed parallax measuring errors ofvarious severities. The two effects of bias errors on the derivedabsolute magnitudes are (1) the Lutz-Kelker correction itself, whichdepends on the relative parallax error δπ/π and the spatialdistribution, and (2) a Malmquist-like ``incompleteness'' correction ofopposite sign due to various apparent magnitude cutoffs as they areprogressively imposed on the catalog. We calculate the bias propertiesusing simulations involving 3×106 stars of fixedabsolute magnitude using Mv=+0.6 to imitate RR Lyraevariables in the mean. These stars are spread over a spherical volumebounded by a radius 50,000 pc with different spatial densitydistributions. The bias is demonstrated by first using a fixed rmsparallax uncertainty per star of 50 μas and then using a variable rmsaccuracy that ranges from 50 μas at apparent magnitude V=9 to 500μas at V=15 according to the specifications for the Full-SkyAstrometric Mapping Explorer (FAME) satellite to be launched in 2004.The effects of imposing magnitude limits and limits on the``observer's'' error, δπ/π, are displayed. We contrast themethod of calculating mean absolute magnitude directly from theparallaxes where bias corrections are mandatory, with an inverse methodusing maximum likelihood that is free of the Lutz-Kelker bias, althougha Malmquist bias is present. Simulations show the power of the inversemethod. Nevertheless, we recommend reduction of the data using bothmethods. Each must give the same answer if each is freed from systematicerror. Although the maximum likelihood method will, in theory, eliminatemany of the bias problems of the direct method, nevertheless the biascorrections required by the direct method can be determined empiricallyvia Spaenhauer diagrams immediately from the data, as discussed in theearlier papers of this series. Any correlation of the absolute(trigonometric) magnitudes with the (trigonometric) distances is thebias. We discuss the level of accuracy that can be expected in acalibration of RR Lyrae absolute magnitudes from the FAME data over themetallicity range of [Fe/H] from 0 to -2, given the known frequency ofthe local RR Lyrae stars closer than 1.5 kpc. Of course, use will alsobe made of the entire FAME database for the RR Lyrae stars over thecomplete range of distances that can be used to empirically determinethe random and systematic errors from the FAME parallax catalog, usingcorrelations of derived absolute magnitude with distance and position inthe sky. These bias corrections are expected to be much more complicatedthan only a function of apparent magnitude because of variousrestrictions due to orbital constraints on the spacecraft.
| Metallicities for Double-Mode RR Lyrae Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Metallicities for six double-mode RR Lyrae stars (RRd's) in the LargeMagellanic Cloud have been estimated using the ΔS method. Thederived [Fe/H] values are in the range [Fe/H]=-1.09 to -1.78 (or -0.95to -1.58, adopting a different calibration of [Fe/H] versus ΔS).Two stars in our sample are at the very metal-rich limit of all RRd'sfor which metal abundance has been estimated, either by direct measure(for field objects) or on the basis of the hosting system (for objectsin globular clusters or external galaxies). These metal abundances,coupled with mass determinations from pulsational models and thePetersen diagram, are used to compare the mass-metallicity distributionof field and cluster RR Lyrae variables. We find that field and clusterRRd's seem to follow the same mass-metallicity distribution, within theobservational errors, strengthening the case for uniformity ofproperties between field and cluster variables. At odds to what isusually assumed, we find no significant difference in mass for RR Lyraevariables in globular clusters of different metallicity and Oosterhofftypes, or there may even be a difference contrary to the commonlyaccepted one, depending on the metallicity scale adopted to derive themasses. This ``unusual'' result for the mass-metallicity relation isprobably due, at least in part, to the inclusion of updated opacitytables in the computation of metal-dependent pulsation models. Based onobservations collected at the European Southern Observatories, Chile.
| Empirical relations for cluster RR Lyrae stars revisited
Our former study on the empirical relations between the Fourierparameters of the light curves of the fundamental mode RR Lyrae starsand their basic stellar parameters has been extended to considerablylarger data sets. The most significant contribution to the absolutemagnitude MV comes from the period P and from the firstFourier amplitude A1, but there are statistically significantcontributions also from additional higher order components, mostimportantly from A3 and in a lesser degree from the Fourierphase varphi51. When different colors are combined inreddening-free quantities, we obtain basically period-luminosity-colorrelations. Due to the log Teff(B-V,log g,[Fe/H]) relationfrom stellar atmosphere models, we would expect some dependence also onvarphi 31. Unfortunately, the data are still not extensiveand accurate enough to decipher clearly the small effect of this Fourierphase. However, with the aid of more accurate multicolor data on fieldvariables, we show that this Fourier phase should be present either inV-I or in B-V or in both. From the standard deviations of the variousregressions, an upper limit can be obtained on the overall inhomogeneityof the reddening in the individual clusters. This yields sigmaE(B-V)<~ 0.012 mag, which also implies an average minimumobservational error of sigmaV >~ 0.018 mag.
| Absolute Magnitudes and Kinematic Parameters of the Subsystem of RR Lyrae Variables
The statistical parallax technique is applied to a sample of 262 RRabLyrae variables with published photoelectric photometry, metallicities,and radial velocities and with measured absolute proper motions.Hipparcos, PPM, NPM, and the Four-Million Star Catalog (Volchkov et al.1992) were used as the sources of proper motions; the proper motionsfrom the last three catalogs were reduced to the Hipparcos system. Wedetermine parameters of the velocity distribution for halo [(U_0, V_0,W_0) = (-9 +/- 12, -214 +/- 10, -16 +/- 7) km/s and (sigma_U, sigma_V,sigma_W) = (164 +/- 11, 105 +/- 7, 95 +/- 7) km/s] and thick-disk [(U_0,V_0, W_0) = (-16 +/- 8, -41 +/- 7, -18 +/- 5) km/s and (sigma_U,sigma_V, sigma_W) = (53 +/- 9, 42 +/- 8, 26 +/- 5) km/s] RR Lyrae, aswell as the intensity-averaged absolute magnitude for RR Lyrae of thesepopulations: = 0.77 +/- 0.10 and = +1.11 +/-0.28 for the halo and thick-disk objects, respectively. The metallicitydependence of the absolute magnitude of RR Lyrae is analyzed(=(0.76 +/- 0.12) + (0.26 +/- 0.26) x ([Fe/H] + 1.6) = 1.17 +0.26 x [Fe/H]). Our results are in satisfactory agreement with the_(RR)-[Fe/H] relation from Carney et al. (1992)(_(RR) = 1.01 + 0.15 x [Fe/H]) obtained by Baade-Wesselink'smethod. They provide evidence for a short distance scale: the LMCdistance modulus and the distance to the Galactic center are 18.22 +/-0.11 and 7.4 +/-±0.5 kpc, respectively. The zero point ofthe distance scale and the kinematic parameters of the RR Lyraepopulations are shown to be virtually independent of the source ofabsolute proper motions used and of whether they are reduced to theHipparcos system or not.
| Stars with the Largest Hipparcos Photometric Amplitudes
A list of the 2027 stars that have the largest photometric amplitudes inHipparcos Photometry shows that most variable stars are all Miras. Thepercentage of variable types change as a function of amplitude. Thiscompilation should also be of value to photometrists looking forrelatively unstudied, but large amplitude stars.
| Kinematics of Metal-poor Stars in the Galaxy. II. Proper Motions for a Large Nonkinematically Selected Sample
We present a revised catalog of 2106 Galactic stars, selected withoutkinematic bias and with available radial velocities, distance estimates,and metal abundances in the range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.0. This updateof the 1995 Beers & Sommer-Larsen catalog includes newly derivedhomogeneous photometric distance estimates, revised radial velocitiesfor a number of stars with recently obtained high-resolution spectra,and refined metallicities for stars originally identified in the HKobjective-prism survey (which account for nearly half of the catalog)based on a recent recalibration. A subset of 1258 stars in this cataloghave available proper motions based on measurements obtained with theHipparcos astrometry satellite or taken from the updated AstrographicCatalogue (second epoch positions from either the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog or the Tycho Catalogue), the Yale/San Juan SouthernProper Motion Catalog 2.0, and the Lick Northern Proper Motion Catalog.Our present catalog includes 388 RR Lyrae variables (182 of which arenewly added), 38 variables of other types, and 1680 nonvariables, withdistances in the range 0.1 to 40 kpc.
| CCD Photometry of the Globular Cluster ω Centauri. I. Metallicity of RR Lyrae Stars from CABY Photometry
We present new measurements of the metallicity of 131 RR Lyrae stars inthe globular cluster ω Centauri, using the hk index of the Cabyphotometric system. The hk method has distinct advantages over ΔSand other techniques in determining the metallicity of RR Lyrae starsand has allowed us to obtain the most complete and homogeneousmetallicity data to date for the RR Lyrae stars in this cluster. For RRLyrae stars in common with the ΔS observations of Butler, Dickens,& Epps and Gratton, Tornambe, & Ortolani, we have found that ourmetallicities, [Fe/H]hk, deviate systematically from theirΔS metallicity, while our [Fe/H]hk for well-observed,field RRab stars are consistent with previous spectroscopicmeasurements. We conclude that this is because of the larger errorsassociated with the previous ΔS observations for this cluster. TheMV(RR)-[Fe/H] and period shift-[Fe/H] relations obtained fromour new data are consistent with the evolutionary models predicted byY.-W. Lee, confirming that the luminosity of RR Lyrae stars depends onevolutionary status as well as metallicity. Using the period-amplitudediagram, we have also identified highly evolved RRab stars in the range-1.9<=[Fe/H]<-1.5, as predicted from the synthetichorizontal-branch models.
| The absolute magnitudes of RR Lyraes from HIPPARCOS parallaxes and proper motions
We have used HIPPARCOS proper motions and the method of StatisticalParallax to estimate the absolute magnitude of RR Lyrae stars. Inaddition we used the HIPPARCOS parallax of RR Lyrae itself to determineit's absolute magnitude. These two results are in excellent agreementwith each other and give a zero-point for the RR Lyrae M_v,[Fe/H]relation of 0.77+/-0.15 at [Fe/H]=-1.53. This zero-point is in goodagreement with that obtained recently by several groups usingBaade-Wesselink methods which, averaged over the results from thedifferent groups, gives M_v = 0.73+/-0.14 at [Fe/H]=-1.53. Taking theHIPPARCOS based zero-point and a value of 0.18+/-0.03 for the slope ofthe M_v,[Fe/H] relation from the literature we find firstly, thedistance modulus of the LMC is 18.26+/-0.15 and secondly, the mean ageof the Globular Clusters is 17.4+/-3.0 GYrs. These values are comparedwith recent estimates based on other "standard candles" that have alsobeen calibrated with HIPPARCOS data. It is clear that, in addition toastrophysical problems, there are also problems in the application ofHIPPARCOS data that are not yet fully understood. Table 1, whichcontains the basic data for the RR Lyraes, is available only at CDS. Itmay be retrieved via anonymous FTP at cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via the Web at http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The slope of the RR Lyrae Mv-(Fe/H) relation
We review the available observational data to show that the slope of theRR Lyrae Mv-(Fe/H) relation is 0.18 +/- 0.03. The recent claim by Feastthat, because of biases, the true slope is much steeper is notjustified.
| Early evolution of the Galactic halo revealed from Hipparcos observations of metal-poor stars
The kinematics of 122 red giant and 124 RR Lyrae stars in the solarneighborhood are studied using accurate measurements of their propermotions obtained by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, combined withtheir published photometric distances, metal abundances, and radialvelocities. A majority of these sample stars have metal abundances of(Fe/H) = -1 or less and thus represent the old stellar populations inthe Galaxy. The halo component, with (Fe/H) = -1.6 or less, ischaracterized by a lack of systemic rotation and a radially elongatedvelocity ellipsoid. About 16 percent of such metal-poor stars have loworbital eccentricities, and we see no evidence of a correlation between(Fe/H) and e. Based on the model for the e-distribution of orbits, weshow that this fraction of low-e stars for (Fe/H) = -1.6 or less isexplained by the halo component alone, without introducing the extradisk component claimed by recent workers. This is also supported by theabsence of a significant change in the e-distribution with height fromthe Galactic plane. In the intermediate-metallicity range, we find thatstars with disklike kinematics have only modest effects on thedistributions of rotational velocities and e for the sample at absolutevalue of z less than 1 kpc. This disk component appears to constituteonly 10 percent for (Fe/H) between -1.6 and -1 and 20 percent for (Fe/H)between -1.4 and -1.
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