Variable stars in the globular cluster M5: application of the image subtraction method

We present V -band light curves of 61 variables from the core of the globular cluster M5 obtained using a newly developed image subtraction method (ISM). Four of these variables were previously unknown. Only 26 variables were found in the same field using photometry obtained with dophot software. Fourier parameters of the ISM light curves have relative errors up to 11 times smaller than parameters measured from dophot photometry. We conclude that the new method is very promising for searching for variable stars in the cores of the globular clusters and gives very accurate relative photometry with quality comparable to photometry obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope . We also show that the variable V104 is not an eclipsing star as has been suggested, but is an RRc star showing non-radial pulsations.     

Estimating the Metallicity of Old Star Clusters in M33

1 INTRODUCTION Globular clusters are thought to be among the oldest radiant objects in the Universe. Thestudies of these systems have played a key role in the development of our understanding of theUniverse, including the fundamental question of the age of the Universe. The globular clustersof Milky Way can be used to probe the way in which our Galaxy formed. Studies of similarclusters in other galaxies can also provide us the properties of those galaxies in the early periodafter their …     

A search for variable stars in the globular cluster M3

We describe here the results of a photometric time-sequence survey of the globular cluster M3 (NGC 5272), in a search for contact and detached eclipsing binary stars. We have discovered only one likely eclipsing binary and one SX Phe-type star in spite of monitoring 4077 stars with V  < 20.0 and observing 25 blue straggler stars (BSS). The newly identified SX Phe star, V237, shows a light curve with a variable amplitude. Variable V238 shows variability either with a period of 0.49 d or with a period of 0.25 d. On the cluster colour–magnitude diagram, the variable occupies a position a few hundredths of a magnitude to the blue of the base of the red giant branch. V238 is a likely descendant of a binary blue straggler.   As a side result we obtained high-quality data for 42 of the previously known RR Lyrae variables, including 33 of Bailey type ab, seven type c and two double-mode pulsators. We used equations that relate the physical properties of RRc stars to their pulsation periods and Fourier parameters in order to derive masses, luminosities, temperatures and helium parameters for five of the RRc stars. We also tested equations that relate the [Fe/H], M _V and temperature of RRab stars to pulsation period and Fourier parameters. We derived [Fe/H]= −1.42 in good agreement with spectroscopic determinations.     

Age and Mass Estimates for 41 Star Clusters in M33

In this second paper of our series, we estimate the age of 41 star clusters, which were detected by Melnick & D'odorico in the nearby spiral galaxy M33, by comparing the integrated photometric measurements with theoretical stellar population synthesis models of Bruzual & Chariot. Also, we calculate the mass of these star clusters using the theoretical M/Lv ratio. The results show that, these star clusters formed continuously in M33 from ~ 7×106 - 1010 years and have masses between ~ 103 and 2×106 M⊙. M33 frames were observed as a part of the BATC Multicolor Survey of the sky in 13 intermediate-band niters from 3800 to 10 OOOA. The relation between age and mass confirms that the sample star cluster masses systematically decrease from the oldest to the youngest.     

Positions and Spectral Energy Distributions of 41 Star Clusters in M33

We present accurate positions and multi-color photometry for 41 star clusters detected by Melnick & D'odorico in the nearby spiral galaxy M33 as a part of the BATC Color Survey of the sky in 13 intermediate-band filters from 3800 to 10 000A. The coordinates of the clusters are found from the HST Guide Star Catalog. By aperture photometry, we obtain the spectral energy distributions of the clusters. Using the relations between the BATC intermediate-band system and UBVRI broadband system, we derive their V magnitudes and B - V colors and find that most of them are blue, which is consistent with previous findings.     

The extended rotation curve and the dark matter halo of M33

We present the 21-cm rotation curve of the nearby galaxy M33 out to a galactocentric distance of 16 kpc (13 disc scalelengths). The rotation curve keeps rising out to the last measured point and implies a dark halo mass ≳5×10¹⁰ M_⊙. The stellar and gaseous discs provide virtually equal contributions to the galaxy gravitational potential at large galactocentric radii, but no obvious correlation is found between the radial distribution of dark matter and the distribution of stars or gas.
Results of the best fit to the mass distribution in M33 picture a dark halo which controls the gravitational potential from 3 kpc outward, with a matter density which decreases radially as R ^−1.3. The density profile is consistent with the theoretical predictions for structure formation in hierarchical clustering cold dark matter (CDM) models, and favours lower mass concentrations than those expected in the standard cosmogony.     

Period–luminosity relations for red supergiant variables – II. The distance to M101

We report the discovery of 42 red supergiant variables (RSVs) in the late-type spiral galaxy M101. Periods for the luminosity variation of these RSVs were determined from 20 epochs of ground-based CCD photometry in the Kron–Cousins R band obtained with the KPNO 2.1-m and WIYN 3.5-m telescopes over a span of three years. The periods found were in the range 200–1300 days. Using the relationship between the RSV periods and their luminosity in the Kron–Cousins I band, we estimate a reddening-corrected distance modulus to M101 of 29.40±0.16 mag (based on a distance modulus of 18.5±0.1 mag for the Large Magellanic Cloud). This distance is consistent with the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project Cepheid distances of 29.34±0.17 mag for the outer field of M101 and 29.21±0.17 mag for the inner field.