Related papers: Local RR Lyrae Stars: native and alien

We show that tagging RR Lyrae stars according to their location in the period-amplitude diagram can be used to shed light on the genesis of the Galactic stellar halo. The mixture of RR Lyrae of ab type, separated into classes along the…

RR Lyrae stars in the bulge have been reported to be associated with the spheroidal, relatively metal-poor component. They offer a way to trace this component with precise distances. While a few studies of RR Lyrae spectra with medium/high…

We present observations of RR Lyrae variables in the Local Group late-type spiral galaxy M33. Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have identified 64 ab-type RR Lyraes in M33. We have estimated reddenings…

RR Lyrae stars are widely considered tracers of ancient (greater than 10 Gyr), metal-poor stellar populations. However, recent kinematic and photometric studies suggest the existence of a metal-rich RRL sub-population associated with the…

We discuss the role that dwarf galaxies may have played in the formation of the Galactic halo (Halo) using RR Lyrae stars (RRL) as tracers of their ancient stellar component. The comparison is performed using two observables (periods,…

The properties of RR Lyrae variables make them excellent probes of the formation and evolution of a stellar population. The mere presence of such stars necessitates an age greater than ~10 Gyr while their periods and amplitudes can be used…

We have combined optical and near-infrared data of known RR Lyrae (RRL) stars in the bulge in order to study the spatial distribution of its metal-poor component by measuring precise reddening values and distances of 7663 fundamental-mode…

We present new period-luminosity and period-luminosity-metallicity relations for Galactic RR Lyrae stars based on a sample of 28 pulsators located at distances up to $1.5$ kpc from the Sun. Near-infrared photometry was obtained at the Cerro…

We present an improved analysis of halo substructure traced by RR Lyrae stars in the SDSS stripe 82 region. With the addition of SDSS-II data, a revised selection method based on new ugriz light curve templates results in a sample of 483 RR…

We present new time-series CCD \emph{VR} photometry of the globular cluster NGC 5634. We aim to use the known RR Lyrae stars, members of the cluster, as indicators of mean metallicity and distance. Accurate coordinates, periods and an…

We present HST/ACS observations of RR Lyrae variable stars in six ultra deep fields of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), including parts of the halo, disk, and giant stellar stream. Past work on the RR Lyrae stars in M31 has focused on various…

We present a survey for RR Lyrae stars in an area of 50 deg$^2$ around the globular cluster $\omega$ Centauri, aimed to detect debris material from the alleged progenitor galaxy of the cluster. We detected 48 RR Lyrae stars of which only 11…

We present the analysis of 1,207 RR Lyrae found in photometry taken by the Catalina Survey's Mount Lemmon telescope. By combining accurate distances for these stars with measurements for ~14,000 type-AB RR Lyrae from the Catalina Schmid…

The kinematics of 122 red giants and 124 RR Lyrae variables in the solar neighborhood is studied using accurate measurements of their proper motions by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, combined with the published photometric distances,…

Using six-dimesional phase-space information from the Fourth Data release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) over the range of Galactic longitude 240$^{\circ}< l <$ 360$^{\circ}$ and $V_{LSR} < -239$ kms$^{-1}$, we have computed…

The MACHO Project has catalogued $\sim 8000$ RR Lyrae stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, $\sim 1800$ in the Galactic bulge, and $\sim$ 50 in the Sgr dwarf galaxy. These variables are excellent distance indicators, and are used as tools to…

We present BV photometry for 54 variables in the metal-rich inner halo globular cluster NGC6723. With the discovery of new RR Lyrae variables (RRLs), we obtain <P_ab> = 0.541 +/- 0.066 and <P_c> = 0.292 +/- 0.030 day, n(c)/n(ab+c) = 0.167,…

We provide the largest and most homogeneous sample of $\alpha$-element (Mg, Ca, Ti) and iron abundances for field RR Lyrae (RRLs, 162 variables) by using high-resolution spectra. The current measurements were complemented with similar…

We present new $P -\phi_{31}-{\rm [Fe/H]}$ and $P -\phi_{31}- A_2 - {\rm [Fe/H]}$ relations for fundamental-mode (RRab) and first-overtone mode (RRc) RR Lyrae stars (RRLs), respectively. The relations were calibrated based on pulsation…

The discovery of very distant stars in the halo of the Milky Way provides valuable tracers on the Milky Way mass and its formation. Beyond 100 kpc from the Galactic center, most of the stars are likely to be in faint dwarf galaxies or tidal…