Variable stars in the Bochum Galactic Disk Survey

We present a first overview of variable stars in the Bochum Galactic Disk Survey (GDS) with emphasis on eclipsing binaries (EBs). This ongoing survey is performed by a robotic twin refractor at the Universitätssternwarte Bochum located near Cerro Armazones in Chile. It comprises a mosaic of 268 fields in a stripe of Δb = ±3° along the Galactic plane observed once per month simultaneously in the Sloan r and i filters with a detection limit of r_s ∼ 16 mag and i_s ∼ 15 mag. The data from the first three years until the end of February 2014 yields a total of 41718 variable stars with variability amplitudes between 0.1–6 mag. A cross‐match with SIMBAD identified 11 465 of these variables unambiguously, while 2184 had multiple matches; most of the remaining stars could be matched with 2MASS objects. Among the SIMBAD‐listed objects with single matches, only 1982 turned out as known variables while a further 256 are suspected of variability. That leaves a total of 39480 potentially new variables. The group of known variables comprises 419 stars (21 %) that are classified as EBs while 443 (22%) are of other types; for the remaining 1120 catalogued variables (57 %) the type is unknown. Investigating variability as a function of spectral type, we find that SIMBAD provides spectral types for 2811 (25 %) of the identified stars. Spectral classes B (26 %), A (20 %), and M (25%) contain the most numerous variables, while all other classes contribute less than 10% each. More than half of the B (55 %) and A (56%) stars are designated as EBs, suggesting that hundreds of new B‐ and A‐type EBs may be contained in the GDS archive. In contrast, among the numerous M stars no EBs are known. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey – II. Image detection, parametrization, classification and photometry

In this, the second in a series of three papers concerning the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey, we describe the methods for image detection, parametrization, classification and photometry. We demonstrate the internal and external accuracy of our object parameters. Using examples from the first release of data, the South Galactic Cap survey, we show that our image detection completeness is close to 100 per cent to within ∼1.5 mag of the nominal plate limits. We show that for the B _J survey data, the image classification is externally > 99 per cent reliable to B _J∼19.5 . Internally, the image classification is reliable at a level of > 90 per cent to B _J∼21 , R ∼19 . The photometric accuracy of our data is typically ∼0.3 mag with respect to external data for m >15 . Internally, the relative photometric accuracy in restricted position and magnitude ranges can be as accurate as ∼5 per cent for well-exposed stellar images. Colours are externally accurate to σ _{B − R , R − I} ∼0.07 at B _J∼16.5 , rising to σ _{B − R , R − I} ∼0.16 at B _J∼20 .     

The APM Survey for cool carbon stars in the Galactic halo – II. The search for dwarf carbon stars

We present proper-motion measurements for carbon stars found during the APM Survey for Cool Carbon Stars in the Galactic halo as reported in an earlier paper by Totten & Irwin. Measurements are obtained using a combination of POSSI, POSSII and UKST survey plates supplemented where necessary by CCD frames taken at the Isaac Newton Telescope. We find no significant proper motion for any of the new APM colour-selected carbon stars and so conclude that there are no dwarf carbon stars present within this sample. We also present proper-motion measurements for three previously known dwarf carbon stars and demonstrate that these measurements agree favourably with those previously quoted in the literature, verifying our method of determining proper motions. Results from a complimentary program of JHK photometry obtained at the South African Astronomical Observatory are also presented. Dwarf carbon stars are believed to have anomalous near-infrared colours, and this feature is used for further investigation of the nature of the APM carbon stars. Our results support the use of JHK photometry as a dwarf/giant discriminator and also reinforce the conclusion that none of the new APM-selected carbon stars is a dwarf. Finally, proper-motion measurements combined with extant JHK photometry are presented for a sample of previously known halo carbon stars, suggesting that one of these stars, CLS29, is likely to be a previously unrecognized dwarf carbon star.     

CCD‐Δa and BV R photometry of NGC 7296

The first CCD photometric investigation of the open cluster NGC 7296 up to now was performed within the narrow band Δa photometric system, which enables us to detect peculiar objects. A deeper investigation of that cluster followed, using the standard BV R ‐Bessel filter set. The age and E (B – V ) was determined independently to log t = 8.0 ± 0.1 and 0.15 ± 0.02, respectively by using Δa and broadband photometry. In total five Be/Ae objects and two metal‐weak stars showing significant negative Δa ‐values as well as one classical chemically peculiar star could be identified within that intermediate age open cluster. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Time‐series high‐resolution spectroscopy and photometry of ε Aurigae from 2006–2013: Another brick in the wall

We present continuous and time‐resolved R = 55 000 optical échelle spectroscopy of ε Aurigae from 2006–2013. Data were taken with the STELLA Echelle Spectrograph of the robotic STELLA facility at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife. Contemporaneous photometry with the Automatic Photoelectric Telescopes at Fairborn Observatory in Arizona is presented for the years 1996–2013. Spectroscopic observations started three years prior to the photometric eclipse and are still ongoing. A total of 474 high‐resolution échelle spectra are analyzed and made available in this paper. We identify 368 absorption lines of which 161 lines show the characteristic sharp disk lines during eclipse. Another 207 spectral lines appeared nearly unaffected by the eclipse. From spectrum synthesis, we obtained the supergiant atmospheric parameters T_eff = 7395 ± 70 K, log g ≈ 1, and [Fe/H] = +0.02 ± 0.2 with ξ_t = 9 km s^–1, ζ_RT = 13 km s^–1, and v sin i = 28 ± 3 km s^–1. The residual average line broadening expressed in km s^–1 varies with a period of 62.6 ± 0.7 d, in particular at egress and after the eclipse. Two‐dimensional line‐profile periodograms show several periods, the strongest with ≈110 d evident in optically thin lines as well as in the Balmer lines. Center‐of‐intensity weighted radial velocities of individual spectral lines also show the 110‐d period but, again, additional shorter and longer periods are evident and are different in the Balmer lines. The two main spectroscopic Hα periods, ≈ 116 d from the line core and ≈ 150 d from the center‐of‐intensity radial velocities, appear at 102 d and 139 d in the photometry. The Hβ and Johnson V I photometry on the other hand shows two well‐defined and phase‐coherent periods of 77 d and 132 d. We conclude that Hα is contaminated by changes in the circumstellar environment while the Hβ and V I photometry stems predominantly from the non radial pulsations of the F0 supergiant. We isolate the disk‐rotation profile from 61 absorption lines and found that low disk eccentricity generally relates to low disk rotational velocity (but not always) while high disk eccentricity always relates to high velocity. There is also the general trend that the disk‐absorption in spectral lines with higher excitation potential comes from disk regions with higher eccentricity and thus also with higher rotational velocity. The dependency on transition probability is more complex and shows a bi‐modal trend. The outskirts of the disk is distributed asymmetrically around the disk and appears to have been built up mostly in a tail along the orbit behind the secondary. Our data show that this tail continues to eclipse the F0 Iab primary star even two years after the end of the photometric eclipse. High‐resolution spectra were also taken of the other, bona‐fide, visual‐binary components of ε Aur (ADS 3605BCDE). Only the C‐component, a K3‐4‐giant, appears at the same distance than ε Aur but its radial velocity is in disagreement with a bound orbit. The other components are a nearby (≈ 7 pc) cool DA white dwarf, a G8 dwarf, and a B9 supergiant, and not related to ε Aur. The cool white dwarf shows strong DIB lines that suggest the existence of a debris disk around this star. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Multi‐epoch time‐resolved photometry of the eclipsing polar CSS081231:071126+440405

The eclipsing polar CSS081231:071126+440405 turned bright (V_max ∼ 14.5) in late 2008 and was subsequently observed intensively with small and medium‐sized telescopes. A homogeneous analysis of this comprehensive dataset comprising 109 eclipse epochs is presented and a linear ephemeris covering the five years of observations, about 24000 orbital cycles, is derived. Formally this sets rather tight constraints on the mass of a hypothetical circumbinary planet, M_pl ≤ 2 M_Jup. This preliminary result needs consolidation by long‐term monitoring of the source. The eclipse lasts 433.08 ± 0.65 s, and the orbital inclination is found to be i = 79.3°–83.7°. The centre of the bright phase displays accretion‐rate dependent azimuthal shifts. No accretion geometry is found that explains all observational constraints, suggesting a complex accretion geometry with possible pole switches and a likely non‐dipolar field geometry. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The pulsating DA white dwarf star EC 14012−1446: results from four epochs of time-resolved photometry

The pulsating DA white dwarfs are the coolest degenerate stars that undergo self-driven oscillations. Understanding their interior structure will help us to understand the previous evolution of the star. To this end, we report the analysis of more than 200 h of time-resolved CCD photometry of the pulsating DA white dwarf star EC 14012−1446 acquired during four observing epochs in three different years, including a coordinated three-site campaign. A total of 19 independent frequencies in the star's light variations together with 148 combination signals up to fifth order could be detected. We are unable to obtain the period spacing of the normal modes and therefore a mass estimate of the star, but we infer a fairly short rotation period of  0.61 ±0.03 d  , assuming the rotationally split modes are  ℓ= 1  . The pulsation modes of the star undergo amplitude and frequency variations, in the sense that modes with higher radial overtone show more pronounced variability and that amplitude changes are always accompanied by frequency variations. Most of the second-order combination frequencies detected have amplitudes that are a function of their parent mode amplitudes, but we found a few cases of possible resonantly excited modes. We point out the complications in the analysis and interpretation of data sets of pulsating white dwarfs that are affected by combination frequencies of the form   f _A + f _B − f _C   intruding into the frequency range of the independent modes.     

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 Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy Survey (SDGS) – II. The stellar content and constraints on the star formation history

A detailed study of the star formation history of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy is performed through the analysis of data from the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy Survey (SDGS). Accurate statistical decontamination of the SDGS colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) allows us to obtain many useful constraints on the age and metal content of the Sgr stellar populations in three different regions of the galaxy.
A coarse metallicity distribution of Sgr stars is derived, ranging from [Fe/H]∼−2.0 to [Fe/H]∼−0.7, the upper limit being somewhat higher in the central region of the galaxy. A qualitative global fit to all the observed CMD features is attempted, and a general scheme for the star formation history of the Sgr dSph is derived. According to this scheme, star formation began at a very early time from a low metal content interstellar medium and lasted for several  Gyr, coupled with progressive chemical enrichment. The star formation rate (SFR) had a peak from 8 to 10  Gyr ago, when the mean metallicity was in the range −1.3≤[Fe/H]≤−0.7. After that maximum, the SFR rapidly decreased and a very low rate of star formation took place until ∼1–0.5  Gyr ago.     

The Parkes Southern Pulsar Survey — II. Final results and population analysis

A survey of the entire southern sky for millisecond and low-luminosity pulsars using the ATNF Parkes radio telescope has now been completed. The survey detected 298 pulsars, of which 101 were previously unknown. The new pulsars include 17 millisecond pulsars. This is the largest sample of both normal and millisecond pulsars detected in any survey. Combining our sample with other recent surveys in the Northern Hemisphere, we present a statistical study of the populations of both normal and millisecond pulsars. We find that the improved statistics allow us to estimate the number and birth-rate of both types of pulsar down to a 400-MHz luminosity limit of 1 mJy kpc². The local surface densities of potentially observable normal pulsars and millisecond pulsars are both about 30 kpc⁻², corresponding to ∼ 30000 potentially observable pulsars of each type in the Galaxy. Once beaming effects are taken into consideration we estimate that the active population of normal pulsars is ∼ 160000. Although there is evidence for flattening of the luminosity function of normal pulsars, this is not evident for millisecond pulsars which probably have a substantial population with luminosities below 1 mJy kpc². After correcting for beaming effects, we estimate that a normal pulsar is born with a luminosity greater than 1 mJy kpc² between once every 60 and 330 yr in the Galaxy. The birth-rate of millisecond pulsars is at least 3 × 10⁻⁶ yr⁻¹ above the same luminosity limit. Modelling the observed transverse speeds of millisecond pulsars using a dynamical simulation, we find their mean birth velocity to be 130 ± 30 km s⁻¹, significantly lower than that of the normal pulsars.     

The Parkes Southern Pulsar Survey — III. Timing of long-period pulsars

The Parkes survey of the entire southern sky for millisecond and other low-luminosity pulsars has now been completed. The survey system and initial results were described by Manchester et al. and the final results and population studies are described by Lyne et al. A total of 298 pulsars were detected, including 101 new discoveries of which 17 were millisecond pulsars. Here we report on timing observations at Parkes and Jodrell Bank of the 84 long-period (non-millisecond) pulsars discovered in the survey, including timing solutions for 78 of them. Pulse profiles and arrival times were obtained at several different frequencies over intervals of more than a year, yielding a position, period, period derivative and dispersion measure for each pulsar. Pulse profiles at frequencies near 400 MHz and 600 or 1400 MHz are presented for most of the observed pulsars. Significant timing noise was detected for five pulsars and a glitch was observed in the period of PSR J1123–6259.     

The field of IC 2602: Strömgren‐Hβ photometry approach

A homogeneous data‐base collating all uvbyβ photometry available at present for O‐B9 stars in the field of IC 2602 is presented. The characteristics of the field are studied. Four spatially coherent groups can be distinguished. A low reddened compact group located at 156 ± 6 pc is identi.ed with IC 2602, followed by background layers at 546 ± 33 pc, 1117 ± 61 pc, and possibly at 2626 ± 163 pc. The apparent depth of the first three layers is about 1 kpc, which is consistent with the thickness of a spiral arm. There is an indication for the existence of a region free of massive luminous stars between 1.2 and 2.6 kpc, which could be associated with interarm space between the Local Association and the distant spiral structures toward Carina. A comparison between the photometric and Hipparcos parallaxes is presented. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

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.     

Search for star clustering: methodology and application to the Two Micron Galactic Survey

A new approach to the study of the large-scale stellar cluster distribution in the Galaxy based on two-point correlation techniques is presented. The basic formalism for this method is outlined, and its applications are then investigated by the use of a simple model of cluster distribution in the Galaxy. This provides an estimate of the potentials of the two-point correlation function for indicating clustering in the measured star positions, which can be related to the presence of star clusters in the observed field. This technique is then applied to several areas of the Two Micron Galactic Survey catalogue, from which information is obtained on the distribution of clusters according to position in the Galaxy, as well as about age, density of stars, etc.     

Multisite campaign on the open cluster M67 – II. Evidence for solar-like oscillations in red giant stars

Measuring solar-like oscillations in an ensemble of stars in a cluster, holds promise for testing stellar structure and evolution more stringently than just fitting parameters to single field stars. The most-ambitious attempt to pursue these prospects was by Gilliland et al. who targeted 11 turn-off stars in the open cluster M67 (NGC 2682), but the oscillation amplitudes were too small (<20 μmag) to obtain unambiguous detections. Like Gilliland et al. we also aim at detecting solar-like oscillations in M67, but we target red giant stars with expected amplitudes in the range 50–  500 μmag  and periods of 1 to 8 h. We analyse our recently published photometry measurements, obtained during a six-week multisite campaign using nine telescopes around the world. The observations are compared with simulations and with estimated properties of the stellar oscillations. Noise levels in the Fourier spectra as low as  27 μmag  are obtained for single sites, while the combined data reach  19 μmag  , making this the best photometric time series of an ensemble of red giant stars. These data enable us to make the first test of the scaling relations (used to estimate frequency and amplitude) with an homogeneous ensemble of stars. The detected excess power is consistent with the expected signal from stellar oscillations, both in terms of its frequency range and amplitude. However, our results are limited by apparent high levels of non-white noise, which cannot be clearly separated from the stellar signal.