Cover Image

Characterization of the VVV survey RR lyrae population across the southern galactic plane

Show other versions (1)

Deep near-IR images from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) Survey were used to search for RR Lyrae stars in the Southern Galactic plane. A sizable sample of 404 RR Lyrae of type ab stars was identified across a thin slice of the fourth Galactic quadrant (295° < ℓ < 350°, −2.°24 <...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Minniti, Dante (Author) , Dékány, István (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2017 March 27
In: The astronomical journal
Year: 2017, Volume: 153, Issue: 4
ISSN:1538-3881
DOI:10.3847/1538-3881/aa5be4
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa5be4
Get full text
Author Notes:Dante Minniti, Istvan Dékány, Daniel Majaess, Tali Palma, Joyce Pullen, Marina Rejkuba, Javier Alonso-García, Marcio Catelan, Rodrigo Contreras Ramos, Oscar A. Gonzalez, Maren Hempel, Mike Irwin, Philip W. Lucas, Roberto K. Saito, Patricia Tissera, Elena Valenti, and Manuela Zoccali
Description
Summary:Deep near-IR images from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) Survey were used to search for RR Lyrae stars in the Southern Galactic plane. A sizable sample of 404 RR Lyrae of type ab stars was identified across a thin slice of the fourth Galactic quadrant (295° < ℓ < 350°, −2.°24 < b < −1.°05). The sample’s distance distribution exhibits a maximum density that occurs at the bulge tangent point, which implies that this primarily Oosterhoff type I population of RRab stars does not trace the bar delineated by their red clump counterparts. The bulge RR Lyrae population does not extend beyond ℓ ∼ 340°, and the sample’s spatial distribution presents evidence of density enhancements and substructure that warrants further investigation. Indeed, the sample may be employed to evaluate Galactic evolution models, and is particularly lucrative since half of the discovered RR Lyrae are within reach of Gaia astrometric observations.
Item Description:Gesehen am 20.10.2017
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1538-3881
DOI:10.3847/1538-3881/aa5be4

Similar Items