The effect of metallicity on the empirical relations for RR Lyrae stars

It has empirically been shown that, for a given value of the effective temperature, the correction in (B-V) due to line blanketing varies linearly with the metallicity parameter S. Next, on the basis of considerations different from those used to obtain a similar result by Sturch (1966), a relation between reciprocal effective temperature _e (=5040/T _e ) and intrinsic line-free colour index(B-V) _o,c has been obtained based on the _e and (B-V) values for five RR Lyr variables. Relations between _e and intrinsic colour(B-V) _o for different groups of stars having a S parameter in the range 0S11 have also been obtained.     

Abundances of 23 field RR Lyrae stars

We present stellar parameters and abundances of 15 elements （Na, Mg, A1, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Y and Ba） for 23 field RR Lyrae variables based on high-resolution （R ~ 60 000） and high signal-to-noise （S/N~ 200） spectra obtained using the High Dispersion Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope. Six stars in the sample have more than one spectrum observed at different pulsation phases. The derived abundance ratios of [X/Fe] for 14 elements （except for Ba） do not vary during the pulsation cycle. An interesting curve of [Ba/Fe] versus phase is detected for the first time and it shows decreasing [Ba/Fe] with increasing temperature at a given metallicity. Combining with data in the literature, abundances of most RR Lyrae stars as a function of [Fe/H] follow the same trends as those of dwarf stars, but [Sc/Fe] and [Y/Fe] ratios of RR Lyrae stars at solar metallicity are lower than those of dwarf stars. The kinematics of RR Lyrae stars indicate that three comparatively metal-rich RR Lyrae stars might originate from the thick disk and they show higher [a/Fe] ratios than RR Lyrae stars with thin disk kinematics. Among 23 RR Lyrae stars, two special objects are found with abnormal abundances; TV Lib has high [a/Fe], [Sc/Fe], [Y/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] ratios while TW Her has solar [a/Fe] but significantly lower [Sc/Fe], [Y/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] ratios as compared with other RR Lyrae stars.     

Proper motions of 64 RR Lyrae variable stars

The relative proper motions of 64 RR Lyrae variables are determined using Turner's method. The first-epoch positions are taken from the Carte du Ciel Astrographic Catalogue, while the second-epoch positions are measured positions from plates taken with the 40-cm refractor (f=6.9 m) of the Zô-Sè Section, Shanghai Observatory, in 1962–1965. The average interval between the two epochs is about 60 years. The mean error in the proper motion is ± 0.005″/y.The absolute proper motions of these variables are found after correcting for the parallactic motions and the galactic differential rotation. The results are given in 3 TABLES.     

A catalogue of RR Lyrae stars from the Northern Sky Variability Survey

A search for RR Lyrae stars has been conducted in the publicly available data of the Northern Sky Variability Survey. Candidates have been selected by the statistical properties of their variation; the standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis with appropriate limits determined from a sample 314 known RRab and RRc stars listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars. From the period analysis and light-curve shape of over 3000 candidates 785 RR Lyrae have been identified of which 188 are previously unknown. The light curves were examined for the Blazhko effect and several new stars showing this were found. Six double-mode RR Lyrae stars were also found of which two are new discoveries. Some previously known variables have been reclassified as RR Lyrae stars and similarly some RR Lyrae stars have been found to be other types of variable, or not variable at all.     

The red edge of the instability strip of RR Lyrae stars

The thermodynamical compling between radial pulsation and convection is studied in accordance with Unno's theory of time-dependent convection. Linear, non-adiabatic calculations are made for 11 series of RR Lyrae models to illuminate the dependence of the red edge of their instability strip on mass, luminosity, helium abundance and the convective parameter C₁.     

RR Lyrae pulsational temperature scales: on the consistency between different empirical relations

In this paper, by assuming the equilibrium temperatures of RRab Lyrae variables defined by Carney, Storm & Jones as correct we show that temperatures derived from ( B − V ) colour (mean colour over the pulsational cycle calculated on the magnitude scale) transformations by Bessel, Castelli & Plez are consistent with the Carney et al. equilibrium temperatures within a probable error of δ  log  T _e =±0.003 . As a consequence, it is shown that the pulsational temperature scale temperature–period–blue amplitude [ T _eff= f ( P , A _B )] relation provided by De Santis, who studied the ( B − V ) colour of about 70 stars of Lub's sample, is a suitable relation, being reddening- and metallicity-free, to calculate equilibrium temperatures for RRab variables. This relation is independent of variable mass and luminosity within a large range of period-shift from the mean period–amplitude relation valid for Lub's sample of variables. On the contrary, it is also shown that a temperature–amplitude–metallicity relation is strictly dependent on the period–amplitude relation of the sample used for calibrating it: we prove that this means it is dependent on both the mass and luminosity variations of variables.     

Identification of temperature anomaly RR Lyrae stars in LAMOST survey,misclassification and binarities

RR Lyrae stars,a well-known type of pulsating variable stars,have been known about for more than a century.A large amount of photometric data on RR Lyrae stars has been accumulated by space-and ground-based sky surveys,but the spectral data are relatively poor.Fortunately,the LAMOST sky survey project provides an opportunity to view them from the point of view of spectra.We collect the atmospheric parameters of 1685 RR Lyrae stars provided by the LAMOST catalog,and carry out research by using the reliable T_(eff).We find that there is a clear correlation between their Teff and pulsation periods,which is consistent with the pulsation and evolution theories of RR Lyrae stars.In addition,we focus on those RR Lyrae stars with abnormal temperatures.After analyzing the data from several photometric surveys,we find that some of these temperature anomalies are misclassified variable stars(e.g.,eclipsing binaries,pulsating stars on main sequence),and some are RR Lyrae binary candidates.For the latter,the temperatures of potential companions should be lower and their luminosities should not be neglected(e.g.,red giant stars).We obtain that the ratio of temperature anomaly stars to all the sample stars is 4%,which means that the impact on the further analysis(e.g.,kinematics analysis) is low.We also present the catalogs of spectral anomaly RR Lyrae stars.     

A new method for determining physical parameters of fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars from multicolour light curves

We present a new method for determining physical parameters of RRab variables exclusively from multicolour light curves. Our method is an inverse photometric Baade–Wesselink analysis which, using a non-linear least-squares algorithm, searches for the effective temperature ( T _eff) and pulsational velocity ( V _p) curves and other physical parameters that best fit the observed light curves, utilizing synthetic colours and bolometric corrections from static atmosphere models. The T _eff and V _p curves are initially derived from empirical relations then they are varied by the fitting algorithm. The method yields the variations and the absolute values of the radius, the effective temperature, the visual brightness and the luminosity of individual objects. Distance and mass are also determined. The method is tested on nine RRab stars subjected to Baade–Wesselink analyses earlier by several authors. The physical parameters derived by our method using only the light-curve data of these stars are well within their possible ranges defined by direct Baade–Wesselink and other techniques. A new empirical relation between the I _C magnitude and the pulsational velocity is also presented, which allows to construct the V _p curve of an RRab star purely from photometric observations to an accuracy of about 3.5 km s⁻¹.     

Studying Blazhko RR Lyrae stars with the 24‐inch telescope of the Konkoly Observatory

About a dozen field RR Lyrae stars have been observed with the 24‐inch Heyde‐Zeiss telescope of the Konkoly Observatory at Svábhegy, Budapest, since its refurbishment in 2003. Most of the observing time is allocated for the investigation of the Blazhko modulation, a phenomenon that still does not have a satisfactory explanation. The obtained multicolour CCD observations are unique in extent. The accuracy of the measurements makes it possible to detect low amplitude modulation of the light curve as well. The discovery of Blazhko stars with low modulation amplitudes warns that the incidence rate of the Blazhko modulation is, in fact, much larger than it was previously expected. This makes the efforts exploring the cause of the modulation even more important. A summary of our measurements and results achieved during the last 3 years is presented. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Formation of Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor RR Lyrae Stars

Carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars are considered to be related to the first generation of stars, and responsible for the chemical evolution of the early Galaxy. More than half of them are in binaries, and could be explained by the binary evolution, but the formation channel of them is still not fully understood. Among the hundreds of CEMP stars, there are nine CEMP RR Lyrae stars identified, and at least seven of which are very likely not binaries. The usual binary star evolution channel is difficult to produce such a single star, particularly that of carbon enrichment. One way in which such a single star might be produced is the merger of a helium white dwarf with a Hertzsprung gap (HG) star. We use a stellar evolution program to calculate the models of the merger remnants, and find that the models can reproduce the observed distribution of these CEMP single RR Lyrae stars in terms of surface temperature, gravity, and carbon abundance. Hence, it is extremely possible that the helium white dwarf and HG star merger model is one of the formation channels of the metal-poor carbon-rich RR Lyrae stars.     

Generation of soft X-rays in the atmosphere of RR Lyrae

Odessa State University. Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 111–120, July–August, 1991.