NGC 362 is a bright southern globular cluster in the foreground of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), for which no extensive variability survey has ever been done. Finding regularly pulsating RR Lyrae stars in the cluster can lead to improved metallicity and distance estimates of the system, while other types of variable objects may be used to confirm the results. Time-series CCD photometric observations have been obtained. Light curves have been derived with both profile fitting photometry and image subtraction. We developed a simple method to convert flux phase curves to magnitudes, which allows the use of empirical light curve shape vs. physical parameters calibrations. Periods and light curve parameters of the detected variable stars have been determined with Fourier analysis, phase dispersion minimization and string-length minimization. Using the RR Lyrae metallicity and luminosity calibrations, we have determined the relative iron abundances and absolute magnitudes of the stars. The color-magnitude diagram has been fitted with Yale-Yonsei isochrones to determine reddening and distance independently. For five RR Lyrae stars we obtained radial velocity measurements from optical spectra. We found 45 RR Lyr stars, of which the majority are new discoveries. While most of them are cluster members, as shown by their radial velocities and positions in the color-magnitude diagram, we also see a few stars in the galactic field and in the outskirts of the SMC. About half of the RR Lyraes exhibit light curve changes (Blazhko effect). The RR Lyrae-based metallicity of the cluster is [Fe/H]=-1.16+/-0.25, the mean absolute magnitude of the RR Lyrae stars is M_V=0.82+/-0.04mag implying a distance of 7.9+/-0.6kpc. The mean period of RRab stars is 0.585+/-0.081days. These properties place NGC 362 among the Oosterhoff type I globular clusters. The isochrone fit implies a slightly larger distance of 9.2+/-0.5kpc and an age of 11+/-1Gyr. We also found 11 eclipsing binaries, 14 pulsating stars of other types, including classical Cepheids in the SMC and 15 variable stars with no firm classification. NGC 362 hosts a large number of RR Lyrae stars, which makes the cluster a potentially important test object for studying the Blazhko effect in a chemically homogeneous environment.
A catalogue is presented with variable (RR Lyrae, semiregular and Mira) stars located inside field #3 (PG3) of the Palomar-Groningen Survey at the outer edge of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. One of the semiregular variables is a carbon star, comparable with those found by Azzopardi et al. (1991A&AS...88..265A). Serendipity provides the suggestion, that their carbon stars might not be located inside, but behind the bulge on the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.
We produce light curves for all ~34000 targets observed with K2 in Campaign 17 (C17), identifying 34 planet candidates, 184 eclipsing binaries, and 222 other periodic variables. The forward-facing direction of the C17 field means follow-up can begin immediately now that the campaign has concluded and interesting targets have been identified. The C17 field has a large overlap with C6, so this latest campaign also offers an infrequent opportunity to study a large number of targets already observed in a previous K2 campaign. The timing of the C17 data release, shortly before science operations begin with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), also lets us exercise some of the tools and methods developed for identification and dissemination of planet candidates from TESS. We find excellent agreement between these results and those identified using only K2-based tools. Among our planet candidates are several planet candidates with sizes <4R_{Earth}_ and orbiting stars with Kp<~10 (indicating good RV targets of the sort TESS hopes to find) and a Jupiter-sized single-transit event around a star already hosting a 6 day planet candidate.
In this paper, we report the detections of stellar variabilities from the first two years of observations of a sky area of about 1300 square degrees from the Tsinghua University-NAOC Transient Survey. A total of 1237 variable stars (including 299 new ones) were detected with a brightness <18.0mag and a magnitude variation >~0.1mag on a timescale from a few hours to a few hundred days. Among such detections, we tentatively identified 661 RR Lyrae stars, 431 binaries, 72 semi-regular pulsators, 29 Mira stars, 11 slow irregular variables, 11 RS Canum Venaticorum stars, 7 Gamma Doradus stars, 5 long-period variables, 3 W Virginis stars, 3 Delta Scuti stars, 2 Anomalous Cepheids, 1 Cepheid, and 1 nova-like star based on their time-series variability index J_s_ and their phased diagrams. Moreover, we found that 14 RR Lyrae stars show the Blazhko effect and 67 contact eclipsing binaries exhibit the O'Connell effect. Since the period and amplitude of light variations of RR Lyrae variables depend on their chemical compositions, their photometric observations can be used to investigate the distribution of metallicity along the direction perpendicular to the Galactic disk. We find that the metallicity of RR Lyrae stars shows large scatter at regions closer to the Galactic plane (e.g., -3.0<[Fe/H]<0) but tends to converge at [Fe/H]~-1.7 at larger Galactic latitudes. This variation may be related to the fact that the RRAB Lyrae stars in the Galactic halo come from globular clusters with different metallicities and vertical distances, i.e., OoI and OoII populations, favoring the dual-halo model.
We have conducted a wide-field photometric survey in a single 52'x52' field towards the Lupus Galactic Plane in an effort to detect transiting Hot Jupiter planets. The data set also led to the detection of 494 field variables, all of which are new discoveries. This paper presents an overview of the project, along with the total catalog of variables, which comprises 190 eclipsing binaries (of contact, semi-contact, and detached configurations), 51 miscellaneous pulsators of various types, 237 long-period variables (P>=2d), 11 {delta} Scuti stars, 4 field RR Lyrae (3 disk and 1 halo) and 1 irregular variable. Our survey provides a complete catalog of W UMa eclipsing binaries in the field to V=18.8, which display a Gaussian period distribution of 0.277+/-0.036d.
Time-series photometry of the CoRoT field SRa01 was carried out with the Berlin Exoplanet Search Telescope II in 2008/2009. A total of 1161 variable stars were detected, of which 241 were previously known and 920 are newly found. Several new, variable young stellar objects have been discovered. The study of the spatial distribution of eclipsing binaries revealed the higher relative frequency of Algols toward the center of the young open cluster NGC 2264. In general Algol frequency obeys an isotropic distribution of their angular momentum vectors, except inside the cluster, where a specific orientation of the inclinations is the case. We suggest that we see the orbital plane of the binaries almost edge-on.
We present the results of variable star searches of the M31 dwarf spheroidal (dSph) companions Andromeda I and Andromeda III using the Hubble Space Telescope. A total of 100 variable stars were found in And I, while 56 were found in And III. One variable found in And I and another in And III may be type II Cepheids. In addition to this variable in And III, another four variables are anomalous Cepheids (ACs). So far, no definite ACs have been discovered in And I.
We have surveyed Andromeda VI, a dwarf spheroidal galaxy companion to M31, for variable stars by using F450W and F555W observations obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope on 1999 October 25 and 1999 October 27 (WFPC2 instrument). A total of 118 variables were found, including 111 RR Lyrae stars, six anomalous Cepheids, and one variable that we were unable to classify. We find that the Andromeda VI anomalous Cepheids have properties consistent with those of anomalous Cepheids in other dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We revise the existing period-luminosity relations for these variables. Further, using these and other available data, we show that there is no clear difference between fundamental and first-overtone anomalous Cepheids in a period-amplitude diagram at shorter periods, unlike the RR Lyrae stars. For the Andromeda VI RR Lyrae stars, we find that they lie close to the Oosterhoff type I Galactic globular clusters in the period-amplitude diagram, although the mean period of the RRab stars, <P_ab_>=0.588days, is slightly longer than that of the typical Oosterhoff type I cluster. The mean V magnitude of the RR Lyrae stars in Andromeda VI is 25.29+/-0.03, resulting in a distance 815+/-25kpc on the Lee, Demarque, & Zinn (1990ApJ...350..155L) distance scale. This is consistent with the distance derived from the I magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch. Similarly, the properties of the RR Lyrae stars indicate a mean abundance for Andromeda VI that is consistent with that derived from the mean red giant branch color.
We have searched for variable stars in deep V-band images of a field towards the Galactic plane in Carina. The images were taken with VIMOS instrument at ESO VLT during 4 contiguous nights in April 2005. We detected 348 variables among 50897 stars in the magnitude range between V=15.4 and V=24.5mag. Upon detection, we classified the variables by direct eye inspection of their light curves. All variable objects but 9 OGLE transits in the field are new discoveries. We provide a complete catalog of all variables which includes eclipsing/ellipsoidal binaries, miscellaneous pulsators (mostly delta Scuti-type variables), stars with flares and other (irregular and likely long-period) variables. Only two of the stars in our sample are known to host planets. Our result give some implications for future large variability surveys.
Difference imaging has proven to be a powerful technique for detecting and monitoring the variability of unresolved stellar sources in M 31. Using this technique in surveys of galaxies outside the Local Group could have many interesting applications. The goal of this paper is to test difference imaging photometry on Centaurus A, the nearest giant elliptical galaxy, at a distance of 4Mpc. We obtained deep photometric data with the Wide Field Imager at the ESO/MPG 2.2m at La Silla spread over almost two months. Applying the difference imaging photometry package DIFIMPHOT, we produced high-quality difference images and detected variable sources. The sensitivity of the current observational setup was determined through artificial residual tests. In the resulting high-quality difference images, we detect 271 variable stars. We find a difference flux detection limit corresponding to m_R_~=24.5. Based on a simple model of the halo of Centaurus A, we estimate that a ground-based microlensing survey would detect in the order of 4 microlensing events per year due to lenses in the halo. Conclusions: Difference imaging photometry works very well at the distance of Centaurus A and promises to be a useful tool for detecting and studying variable stars in galaxies outside the local group. For microlensing surveys, a higher sensitivity is needed than achieved here, which would be possible with a large ground-based telescope or space observatory with wide-field imaging capabilities.
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