The rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars exhibit short time scale photometric and/or radial velocity variations, which are most important to test current pulsation models as well as our assumptions of the atmospheric structure characteristics. In addition, their chemical peculiarity makes them very interesting for probing stellar formation and evolution in the presence of a global magnetic field. To date, only a limited number of about 45 roAp stars are known. In order to increase the sample, we obtained photometric time series of 20 good roAp candidates to search for pulsations. We present the time series analysis of about 60 hours of CCD photometry taken at the 1 meter Austrian-Croatian Telescope (Hvar Observatory) and derive effective temperatures for the programme objects. The upper amplitude limits of the Fourier spectra are typically below 2mmag in Bessell B with one good candidate for follow-up observations to find possible pulsation. In addition, we present a list of further roAp candidates, worth to be (re)investigated.
We develop a nonlinear semi-parametric Gaussian process model to estimate periods of Miras with sparsely sampled light curves. The model uses a sinusoidal basis for the periodic variation and a Gaussian process for the stochastic changes. We use maximum likelihood to estimate the period and the parameters of the Gaussian process, while integrating out the effects of other nuisance parameters in the model with respect to a suitable prior distribution obtained from earlier studies. Since the likelihood is highly multimodal for period, we implement a hybrid method that applies the quasi-Newton algorithm for Gaussian process parameters and search the period/frequency parameter space over a dense grid. A large-scale, high-fidelity simulation is conducted to mimic the sampling quality of Mira light curves obtained by the M33 Synoptic Stellar Survey. The simulated data set is publicly available and can serve as a testbed for future evaluation of different period estimation methods. The semi-parametric model outperforms an existing algorithm on this simulated test data set as measured by period recovery rate and quality of the resulting period-luminosity relations.
Equatorial coordinates have been determined for 61 variables in the northern globular cluster M 53 and for 12 variables in the southern globular cluster NGC 2808 with accuracy sufficient for reliable identifications. A number of errors have been revealed in publications on variable starts in M 53.
The amateur observer Lennart Dahlmark has published a useful series of IBVS notes listing a number of candidate variable stars, most of which were new. Although adequate charts and reliable semi-accurate positions were supplied, no other identifications were usually given. If the stars are to be recovered for further study and linkage within other surveys (IRAS, etc.), then precise positions must be determined to make identification unambiguous within crowded galactic fields.
Many studies have shown that RR Lyrae variable stars (RRL) are powerful stellar tracers of Galactic halo structure and satellite galaxies. The Dark Energy Survey (DES), with its deep and wide coverage (g~23.5 mag in a single exposure; over 5000 deg^2^) provides a rich opportunity to search for substructures out to the edge of the Milky Way halo. However, the sparse and unevenly sampled multiband light curves from the DES wide-field survey (a median of four observations in each of grizY over the first three years) pose a challenge for traditional techniques used to detect RRL. We present an empirically motivated and computationally efficient template-fitting method to identify these variable stars using three years of DES data. When tested on DES light curves of previously classified objects in SDSS stripe 82, our algorithm recovers 89% of RRL periods to within 1% of their true value with 85% purity and 76% completeness. Using this method, we identify 5783 RRL candidates, ~28% of which are previously undiscovered. This method will be useful for identifying RRL in other sparse multiband data sets.
The list below is a continuation of a series providing accurate positions and identifications for variables appearing on the MVS charts (Hoffmeister, 1957, Mitt. Verdander. Sterne, No. 245). The variables here were first described by Hoffmeister (1949, Astron. Abh. Ergaenzungshefte z.d. Astron. Nach., 12, no. 1, A3) in the difficult-to-find ``Ergaenzungshefte'' to the Astronomische Nachrichten, and are the first group from a collection of some 1440 variables from this publication. Details about the identification procedure and table layout are contained in the first report of our series (Kinnunen & Skiff, 2000IBVS.4862....1K). We are grateful to librarians Antoinette Beiser (Lowell) and Brenda Corbin (U. S. Naval Observatory, Washington) for providing a photocopy of the Hoffmeister survey; ``bibliothecaire extraordinaire'' Suzanne Laloe (Obs. Paris-Meudon) advised on how this obscure journal should be cited.
Repeated DENIS observations (summer 1996 & 1998) in the J (1.25{mu}m) and the K_s_ (2.15{mu}m) bands are used to look for variables stars. We present two catalogues of ~1000 probable variables in an area of ~4deg^2^ of the inner galactic bulge. The first one contains ~720 variable star candidates which which show variability in the J and K_s_ while the second consists of sources only observed to be variable in K_s_ (~270 sources), mainly in regions whit high interstellar extinction.
We present the discovery of ten RR Lyrae variables. They were found in a search for new variables in the OGLE II Photometric Database (Szymanski 2005AcA....55...43S, Udalski et al. 1997AcA....47..319U). Suitable parameters (e.g. Isig>0.1, e_Imed<Isig) were used in the OGLE Photometry Database Query Page (http://ogledb.astrouw.edu.pl/~ogle/photdb/) for stars in the Galactic Disk. Period analysis was made with the software AVE (GEA).
We present a new photometric method by which improved high-precision reddenings and true distance moduli can be determined to individual Galactic Cepheids once distance measurements are available. We illustrate that the relative positioning of stars in the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL) relation (Leavitt law) is preserved as a function of wavelength. This information then provides a powerful constraint for determining reddenings to individual Cepheids, as well as their distances. As a first step, we apply this method to the 59 Cepheids in the compilation of Fouque et al. Updated reddenings, distance moduli (or parallaxes), and absolute magnitudes in seven (optical through near-infrared) bands are given. From these intrinsic quantities, multiwavelength PL and color-color relations are derived. We find that the V-band period-luminosity-color relation has an rms scatter of only 0.06mag, so that individual Cepheid distances can be measured to 3%, compared with dispersions of 6 to 13% for the one-parameter K through B PL relations, respectively. This method will be especially useful in conjunction with the new accurate parallax sample upcoming from Gaia.