RR Lyrae variables in the globular cluster M3 (NGC 5272) — I. BVI CCD photometry

New BVI CCD photometry is presented for 60 RR Lyrae variables in the globular cluster M3. Light curves have been constructed and ephemerides have been (re)-derived for all of them. Four stars (i.e. V29, V136, V155 and V209), although recognized as variables, had no previous period determinations. Also, the period derived for V129 is significantly different from the one published by Sawyer-Hogg. Light curve parameters, i.e. mean magnitudes, amplitudes and rise times, have been derived.   The discussion of these results in the framework of the stellar evolution and pulsation theories will be presented in a forthcoming paper.     

The outer-halo globular cluster NGC 6229 – IV. Variable stars

We present time-series B , V photometry of NGC 6229, obtained with the purpose of providing the first extensive CCD variability study of this cluster. As a result, we were able to obtain periods for all NGC 6229 variables, with the exception of five stars from the candidate list of Borissova et al. located very close to the cluster centre. Two stars suspected to be variables by Carney, Fullton and Trammell are first-overtone RR Lyrae (RRc) stars, whereas seven of the 12 candidates of Borissova et al. are confirmed variables – three of them being fundamental RR Lyrae (RRab) pulsators, two first-overtone pulsators, one an eclipsing binary (most likely an Algol system) and one a bright star whose variability status could not be satisfactorily determined. A new image subtraction method (ISM) suggested by Alard has been employed which, together with the Welch–Stetson technique, has allowed us to discover twelve new RR Lyrae variables in the cluster, for which ephemerides are provided. Ten of these are RRabs, whereas the other two are RRcs. As originally suggested by Mayer, NGC 6229 is clearly an Oosterhoff type I globular cluster. We also confirm that V8 is a Population II Cepheid of the W Virginis type, and suspect that this is the case for V22 as well. The physical properties of the NGC 6229 RR Lyrae population are contrasted with those of M3 (NGC 5272) using several different methods, including a standard period-shift analysis. Possible differences between these two clusters are discussed.     

TRIFFID observations of the cores of the three globular clusters M15, M92 and NGC 6712

We present the results of TRIFFID simultaneous V - and B -band observations of the cores of the globular clusters M15, M92 and NGC 6712. A variability search of their dense centres was made feasible through performing post-exposure image sharpening on the images, increasing the image resolution by a factor of ∼2. The isis implementation of the image subtraction technique developed by Alard & Lupton was then used to detect flux variations in our image sets. We have obtained periods for all observable variables (in our field of view) in NGC 6712 and we have found two new RR Lyrae variables (an RRab and an RRc). We have confirmed three variables in our field of view of the M92. For M15, we detect 48 variables in our field of view, 23 of which are new discoveries. We obtain periods and amplitudes for all variables and classify new ones based on the light-curve shape, the most significant period and the mean magnitude in the V band. Among the detected RR Lyrae we find 19 RRc, 12 RRab and two RRd types. In the subsequent analysis we find a marked increase in RRc over RRab variables in the core. In a refined procedure to search for fainter objects we find no dwarf novae in our field of view of M15. Simulations performed on the data set to quantify our sensitivity to such objects indicate that an upper limit of 10 dwarf novae (at 92 per cent probability) exist in our field of view. The implications this result has on globular clusters are discussed.     

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.     

The distance to Galactic globular clusters through RR Lyrae pulsational properties

By adopting the same approach outlined by De Santis & Cassisi, we evaluate the absolute bolometric magnitude of the zero-age horizontal branch (ZAHB) at the level of the RR Lyrae variable instability strip in selected Galactic globular clusters. This allows us to estimate the ZAHB absolute visual magnitude for these clusters and to investigate its dependence on the cluster metallicity. The derived M _V (ZAHB)–[Fe/H] relation, corrected in order to account for the luminosity difference between the ZAHB and the mean RR Lyrae magnitude, has been compared with some of the most recent empirical determinations in this field, such as the one provided by Baade–Wesselink analyses, RR Lyrae periods, Hipparcos data for field variables and main-sequence fitting based on Hipparcos parallaxes for field subdwarfs. As a result, our relation provides a clear support to the 'long' distance scale. We discuss also another method for measuring the distance to Galactic globular clusters. This method is quite similar to the one adopted for estimating the absolute bolometric magnitude of the ZAHB but it relies only on the pulsational properties of the Lyrae variables in each cluster. The reliability and accuracy of this method have been tested by applying it to a sample of globular clusters for which, owing to the morphology of their horizontal branch (HB), the use of the commonly adopted ZAHB fitting is a risky procedure. We notice that the two approaches for deriving the cluster distance modulus provide consistent results when applied to globular clusters, the RR Lyrae instability strip is well populated. As the adopted method relies on theoretical predictions on both the fundamental pulsational equation and the allowed mass range for fundamental pulsators, we give an estimate of the error affecting present results, owing to systematic uncertainties in the adopted theoretical framework.     

Variable stars in the globular cluster NGC 6362

We report the results of a CCD search for short-period variables in the field of a southern globular cluster NGC 6362. We identified 19 new candidate variables, five of which are cluster RR Lyraes, four are probable SX Phe-type stars and eight are eclipsing binaries. Of the discovered binaries, three are EA-type systems, two of which are located on the cluster CMD in the turn-off region and the third 1 mag above the turn-off point, in the yellow straggler region. Five other systems are of W UMa type, three of which are foreground objects and two are likely cluster members. The remaining two candidates exhibit a modulation of the brightness level with an amplitude of 0.1–0.2 mag; further observations are needed to reveal the nature of their variability. Phased VI light curves for 20 variables (18 RR Lyrae stars and two blue stragglers) located in the central region of the cluster are presented.     

RR Lyrae variables in M5 as a test of pulsational theory

We present B and V CCD photometry for variables in the cluster central region, adding new data for 32 variables and giving suitable light curves, mean magnitudes and corrected colours for 17 RR Lyrae variables. Adding the data given in this paper to similar data that have already appeared in the literature, we discuss a sample of 42 variables, as given by 22 RR_ab and 20 RR_c, in the light of recent predictions from pulsational theories. We find that the observational evidence concerning M5 pulsators appears in marginal disagreement with predictions concerning the colour of the first overtone blue edge (FOBE), whereas a clear disagreement appears between the zero-age horizontal branch (ZAHB) luminosities predicted through evolutionary and pulsational theories.     

Pulsational MV versus [Fe/H] relation(s) for globular cluster RR Lyrae variables

We use the results from recent computations of updated non-linear convective pulsating models to constrain the distance modulus of Galactic globular clusters through the observed periods of first-overtone (RR _c ) pulsators. The resulting relation between the mean absolute magnitude of RR Lyrae stars 〈 M _V (RR)〉 and the heavy element content [Fe/H] appears well in the range of several previous empirical calibrations, but with a non-linear dependence on [Fe/H] so that the slope of the relation increases when moving towards larger metallicities. On this ground, our results suggest that metal-poor ([Fe/H]<−1.5) and metal-rich ([Fe/H]>−1.5) variables follow two different linear 〈 M _V (RR)〉−[Fe/H] relations. Application to RR Lyrae stars in the metal-poor globular clusters of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides an LMC distance modulus of the order of 18.6 mag, thus supporting the 'long' distance scale. The comparison with recent predictions based on updated stellar evolution theory is briefly presented and discussed.     

Optical monitoring of the central region of the globular cluster M 15 = NGC 7078: New variable stars

We obtained a series of more than two hundred R-band CCD images for the crowded central (115″×77″) region of the metal-poor globular cluster M 15 with an angular resolution of \(0\mathop .\limits^{''} 5 - 0\mathop .\limits^{''} 9\) in most images. Optimal image subtraction was used to identify variable stars. Brightness variations were found in 83 stars, 55 of which were identified with known cluster variables and the remaining 28 are candidates for new variables. Two of them are most likely SX Phe variables. The variability type of two more stars is uncertain. The remaining stars were tentatively classified as RR Lyrae variables. A preliminary analysis of published data and our results shows that the characteristics of RR Lyrae variables in the densest part (r<35″) of the cluster probably change. More specifically, the maximum of the period distribution of first-and second-overtone (RR1, RR2) pulsating stars shifts toward shorter periods; i.e., there is an increase in the fraction of stars pulsating with periods \( < 0\mathop .\limits^d 3\) and a deficiency of stars with \(0\mathop .\limits^d 35 - 0\mathop .\limits^d 40\). The ratio of the number of these short-period RR Lyrae variables to the number of fundamental-tone (RR0) pulsating variables changes appreciably. We found and corrected the error of transforming the coordinates of variables V128–155 in M 15 into the coordinate system used in the catalog of variable stars in globular clusters.     

[Fe/H] relations for c-type RR Lyrae variables based upon Fourier coefficients

[Fe/H]–φ₃₁– P relations are found for c-type RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters. The relations are analogous to that found by Jurcsik & Kovács for field ab-type RR Lyrae stars, where a longer period correlates with lower metallicity values for similar values of the Fourier coefficient φ₃₁. The relations obtained here are used to determine the metallicity of field c-type RR Lyrae stars, those within ω Cen, the Large Magellanic Cloud and toward the galactic bulge. The results are found to compare favourably to metallicity values obtained elsewhere.     

Further probing the nature of FSR 1767

With Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) photometry and proper motions, Bonatto et al. suggested that FSR 1767 is a globular cluster (GC), while with J and K NTT/SOFI photometry Froebrich, Meusinger & Scholz concluded that it is not a star cluster. In this study, we combine previous and new evidence that are consistent with a GC. For instance, we show that the horizontal branch (HB) and red giant branch (RGB) stars, besides sharing a common proper motion, have radial density profiles that consistently follow the King's law independently. Reddening maps around FSR 1767 are built using the bulge RGB as reference and also Schlegel's extinction values to study local absorptions. Both approaches provide similar maps and show that FSR 1767 is not located in a dust window, which otherwise might have produced the stellar overdensity. Besides, neighbouring regions of similar reddening as FSR 1767 do not present the blue HB stars that are a conspicuous feature in the colour–magnitude diagram of FSR 1767. We report the presence of a compact group of stars located in the central parts of FSR 1767. It appears to be a detached post-collapse core, similar to those of other nearby low-luminosity GCs projected towards the bulge. We note that while the NTT/SOFI photometry of the star cluster FSR 1716 matches perfectly that from 2MASS, it shows a considerable offset for FSR 1767. We discuss the possible reasons why both photometries differ. We confirm our previous structural and photometric fundamental parameters for FSR 1767, which are consistent with a GC.     

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.     

Stellar kinematics in the centers of globular clusters

The high central stellar densities in globular clusters provide a unique environment to study the fundamental dynamical process of two‐body relaxation. This process is the main driver of the dynamical evolution in the center of a globular cluster and has a profound effect on the structure of the cluster and on its stellar environment. We have obtained stellar absorption line spectra with STIS to measure the radial velocities of individual stars in the crowded center of the globular cluster M15. These data increase the number of stars with known radial velocities within the central arcsec by a factor of about three and significantly improve the constraints on the mass distribution in M15. The data provide the most detailed look of the central structure of any globular cluster and show that there is a compact dark central mass component. Similar studies using ground based facilities can be efficiently performed by employing Integral Field Units. We have started a project to better constrain the central mass density in the globular cluster M3 using the GMOS‐IFU on Gemini North. The data will also allow us to better understand the central rotation which is neither explained nor predicted by any globular cluster model. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

CCD photometry of the Galactic globular cluster M13

In this paper, we present a B − V CCD colour–magnitude diagram (CMD) of the globular cluster M13 (NGC 6205), reaching down about 2 mag below the main sequence turn-off, based on a new, independent photometric calibration.
The most notable features of the CMD, including about 5500 stars, are (i) the long extension of the blue tail of the horizontal branch (HB), which can be traced down to V ∼19 and (moreover) shows the presence of two gaps; and (ii) the so-called bump on the red giant branch which is well-detected at V =14.75±0.05, using both the differential and integral luminosity functions.
No similar features have ever been detected in any previous ground-based photometry of this cluster.
A direct comparison between the CMD of M13 and M3, calibrated during the same run with the same apparatus, sets an upper limit of about 1.5 Gyr on their age difference, too small to explain the striking differences between their HB morphologies.     

Horizontal branch stars: the interplay between observations and theory,and insights into the formation of the Galaxy

We review and discuss horizontal branch (HB) stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC—an argument which, due to its strong reliance on the ancient RR Lyrae stars, is essentially independent of the chemical evolution of these systems after the very earliest epochs in the Galaxy’s history. Convenient analytical fits to isochrones in the HB type–[Fe/H] plane are also provided. In this sense, a rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is also presented, focusing on the cases of NGC 288/NGC 362, M13/M3, the extreme outer-halo globular clusters with predominantly red HBs, and the metal-rich globular clusters NGC 6388 and NGC 6441. The recently revived possibility that the helium abundance may play an important role as a second parameter is also addressed, and possible constraints on this scenario discussed. We critically discuss the possibility that the observed properties of HB stars in NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 might be accounted for if these clusters possess a relatively minor population of helium-enriched stars. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic globular clusters on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The importance of bright type II Cepheids as tracers of faint blue HB stars in distant systems is also emphasized. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyr, is also revisited. Taking into due account the evolutionary status of RR Lyr, the derived relation implies a true distance modulus to the LMC of (m–M)₀=18.44±0.11. Techniques providing discrepant slopes and zero points for the M _V (RRL)–[Fe/H] relation are briefly discussed. We provide a convenient analytical fit to theoretical model predictions for the period change rates of RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters, and compare the model results with the available data. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are also investigated. M. Catelan is John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow.     

The period–luminosity relation for type II Cepheids in globular clusters

We report the result of our near-infrared observations ( JHK _s) for type II Cepheids (including possible RV Tau stars) in galactic globular clusters. We detected variations of 46 variables in 26 clusters (10 new discoveries in seven clusters) and present their light curves. Their periods range from 1.2 d to over 80 d. They show a well-defined period–luminosity relation at each wavelength. Two type II Cepheids in NGC 6441 also obey the relation if we assume the horizontal branch stars in NGC 6441 are as bright as those in metal-poor globular clusters in spite of the high metallicity of the cluster. This result supports the high luminosity which has been suggested for the RR Lyr variables in this cluster. The period–luminosity relation can be reproduced using the pulsation equation     assuming that all the stars have the same mass. Cluster RR Lyr variables were found to lie on an extrapolation of the period–luminosity relation. These results provide important constraints on the parameters of the variable stars.
Using Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) data, we show that the type II Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) fit our period–luminosity relation within the expected scatter at the shorter periods. However, at long periods (   P > 40  d, i.e. in the RV Tau star range) the LMC field variables are brighter by about one magnitude than those of similar periods in galactic globular clusters. The long-period cluster stars also differ from both these LMC stars and galactic field RV Tau stars in a colour–colour diagram. The reasons for these differences are discussed.     

Photometric study of the variable star population in the globular cluster NGC 6397

We present the results of a photometric survey for variable stars in the central region of the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397. Time-series photometry was obtained for 30 variable objects. The sample includes 12 new objects, of which six show periodic light curves and two are eclipsing binaries of unknown period. Six variables possess certain and three possess likely X-ray counterparts detected with the Chandra observatory. Among them, four are cataclysmic variables and one is a foreground eclipsing binary. The cataclysmic variable CV2 exhibited a likely dwarf nova type outburst in 2003 May. The cataclysmic variable CV3 was observed at  18.5 < V < 20.0  during five observing runs, but went into a low state in 2003 May when it reached   V > 22  . We have found that the light curve of the optical companion to the millisecond pulsar PSR J1740−5340 exhibits noticeable changes of its amplitude on a time-scale of a few months. A shallow eclipse with  Δ V = 0.03 mag  was detected in one of the cluster turn-off stars suggesting the presence of a large planet or brown dwarf in orbit.     

UBV stellar photometry of bright stars in GC M5 – II. Physical parameters of horizontal branch stars

The physical parameters of the stars in the central region of the globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) were determined from UBV photometry using Kurucz's synthetic flux distributions and some empirical relations. It is found that the bluest horizontal branch (HB) stars have higher luminosities than predicted by canonical zero-age horizontal branch models. Parameters of the mass distribution on the HB stars are determined. It is shown that the gap in the blue HB previously reported by Markov et al. in Paper I is probably a statistical fluctuation.     

New age estimates of M31 globular clusters from multicolour photometry

The large majority of extragalactic star cluster studies performed to date essentially use multicolour photometry, combined with theoretical stellar synthesis models, to derive ages, masses, extinction estimates and metallicities. M31 offers a unique laboratory for studies of globular cluster (GC) systems. In this paper, we obtain new age estimates for 91 M31 GCs, based on improved photometric data, updated theoretical stellar synthesis models and sophisticated new fitting methods. In particular, we used photometric measurements from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), which, in combination with optical photometry, can partially break the well-known age–metallicity degeneracy operating at ages in excess of a few Gyr. We show robustly that previous age determinations based on photometric data were affected significantly by this age–metallicity degeneracy. Except for one cluster, the ages of our other sample GCs are all older than 1 Gyr. Their age distribution shows populations of young- and intermediate-age GCs, peaking at ∼3 and 8 Gyr, respectively, as well as the 'usual' complement of well-known old GCs, i.e. GCs of similar age as the majority of the Galactic GCs. Our results also show that although there is significant scatter in metallicity at any age, there is a notable lack of young metal-poor and old metal-rich GCs, which might be indicative of an underlying age–metallicity relationship among the M31 GC population.     

HST colour–magnitude diagrams of six old globular clusters in the LMC

We report on HST observations of six candidate old globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC): NGC 1754, 1835, 1898, 1916, 2005 and 2019. Deep exposures with the F555W and F814W filters provide us with colour–magnitude diagrams that reach to an apparent magnitude in V of ∼25, well below the main-sequence turn-off. These particular clusters are associated with significantly high LMC field star densities and care was taken to subtract the field stars from the cluster colour–magnitude diagrams accurately. In two cases there is significant variable reddening across at least part of the image, but only for NGC 1916 does the differential reddening preclude accurate measurements of the CMD characteristics. The morphologies of the colour–magnitude diagrams match well those of Galactic globular clusters of similar metallicity. All six have well-developed horizontal branches, while four clearly have stars on both sides of the RR Lyrae gap. The abundances obtained from measurements of the height of the red giant branch above the level of the horizontal branch are 0.3 dex higher, on average, than previously measured spectroscopic abundances. Detailed comparisons with Galactic globular cluster fiducials show that all six clusters are old objects, very similar in age to classical Galactic globulars such as M5, with little age spread among the clusters. This result is consistent with ages derived by measuring the magnitude difference between the horizontal branch and main-sequence turn-off. We also find a similar chronology by comparing the horizontal branch morphologies and abundances with the horizontal branch evolutionary tracks of Lee, Demarque &38; Zinn. Our results imply that the LMC formed at the same time as the Milky Way Galaxy.