Browsing by Author "De Lee, N."
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- ItemA large and homogeneous sample of SX Phe stars in the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy .(2006) Poretti, E.; Dell'Arciprete, L.; Clementini, G.; Held, E. V.; Greco, C.; Gullieuszik, M.; Maio, M.; Rizzi, L.; Catelan , Marcio; Smith, H. A.; Pritzl, B.; De Lee, N.; Rest, A.We report on the detection of sixty-one SX Phe stars in the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy using the Wide-Field Imager at the 2.2m ESO-MPI telescope. In spite of their extreme faintness (22.0...
- ItemLooking for building blocks of the Galactic halo: variable stars in the Fornax, Bootes I, Canes Venatici II dwarfs and in NGC 2419(2010) Greco, Claudia; Clementini, Gisella; Held, E. V.; Poretti, E.; Catelan, Márcio; Federici, L.; Maio, M.; Gullieuszik, M.; Ripepi, V.; Dall'Ora, M.; Di Fabrizio, L.; Kinemuchi, K.; Di Crescienzo, M.; Marconi, M.; Musella, I.; Pritzl, B.; Rest, A.; De Lee, N.; Smith, H.Λ cold-dark-matter hierarchical models of galaxy formation suggest that the halo of the Milky Way (MW) has been assembled, at least in part, through accretion of protogalactic fragments partially resembling the present-day dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites of the MW. Investigation of the stellar populations of the MW's globular clusters (GCs) and dSph companions can thus provide excellent tests to infer the dominant Galaxy-formation scenario, whether merger/accretion or cloud collapse. Pulsating variable stars offer a very powerful tool in this context, since variables of different types allow tracing the different stellar generations in a galaxy and to reconstruct the galaxy's star-formation history and assembly back to the first epochs of galaxy formation. In particular, the RR Lyrae stars, belonging to the old population (t > 10 Gyr), witnessed the epoch of halo formation, and thus hold a crucial role to identify the MW satellites that may have contributed to build up the Galactic halo. In the MW, most GCs with an RR Lyrae population sharply divide into two distinct groups (Oosterhoff types I and II) based on the mean periods and relative proportion of fundamental-mode (RRab) and first-overtone (RRc) RR Lyrae stars. On the other hand, the Galactic-halo field RR Lyrae stars show a dominance of Oosterhoff I properties. Here, we investigate the Oosterhoff properties of a number of different stellar systems, starting from relatively undisturbed dwarf galaxies (the Fornax dSph and its globular clusters), through distorted and tidally disrupting ones (the Bootes and Canes Venatici II dSphs), to possible final relics of the disruption process (the Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419). We are addressing the crucial question of whether the RR Lyrae pulsation properties in these systems conform to the Oosterhoff dichotomy characterizing the MW variables. If they do not, the Galaxy's halo cannot have been assembled by dSph-like protogalactic fragments resembling the present-day dSph companions of the MW. We have reduced and combined long time series from different telescopes, both ground- and space-based. Variable stars have been detected with image-subtraction techniques using the package isis2.1. Periods, amplitudes and Oosterhoff type for all variable stars, as well as color-magnitude diagrams of the stellar populations are discussed for each stellar cluster analyzed....
- ItemRR Lyrae in LMC Globular Clusters(2009) Kuehn, Charles A., III; Smith, H. A.; Taylor, L.; McClellan, R. E.; Catelan, Marcio; Looper, K.; Pritzl, B. J.; De Lee, N.We present preliminary results from a study of five globular clusters located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The goal of this project is to carry out a large, systematic study of the behavior of RR Lyrae stars in Oosterhoff-intermediate globular clusters. The LMC is an ideal target for a study of this sort as it contains Oosterhoff-intermediate clusters as well as Oo-I/II clusters. We seek to answer three main questions. 1.) Are there double-mode RR Lyrae stars (RRd) in Oo-intermediate clusters and if so how do their properties compare to RRd stars in Oo-I/II clusters? 2.) How do the positions of RR Lyrae stars on the Bailey diagram differ between stars in Oo-intermediate clusters compared to those in Oo-I/II clusters? 3.) How do the Fourier decomposition parameters of RR Lyrae stars change when going from Oo-I/II clusters to Oo-intermediate ones? We present Oosterhoff classifications and sample light curves for some of the clusters in our study and discuss their Fourier parameters and resulting physical properties. We also discuss the implications of our findings on the nature of the Oosterhoff dichotomy and what that implies about Milky Way formation....
- ItemRR Lyrae Stars: Period-Luminosity Relations and Oosterhoff Groups(2003) Smith, H. A.; Pritzl, B. J.; Catelan, Marcio; Sweigart, A. V.; De Lee, N.; Contreras, R.We use new observations and data from the literature to construct I band period-luminosity relations for RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters. We present synthetic horizontal branches made from theoretical evolutionary models to understand better the effect which horizontal branch morphology has upon the period-luminosity relations in I and several other passbands. We also use the observed relations to address the question of the prevalence of second overtone pulsators among the RR Lyrae stars. We will review an ongoing observational program designed to obtain photometry for variable stars in globular clusters that show the second parameter effect and that cannot be easily placed within the two usual Oosterhoff groups. We thank the National Science Foundation for partial support of this work....
- ItemThe Fornax Project(2006) Clementini, G.; Greco, C.; Held, E. V.; Poretti, E.; Catelan, Marcio; Dell'Arciprete, L.; Gullieuszik, M.; Maio, M.; Rizzi, L.; Smith, H. A.; Pritzl, B. J.; Rest, A.; De Lee, N.The Fornax Project aims at mapping the classical instability strip of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy, from the faint Dwarf Cepheids (V ∼ 24-25 mag) to the bright Anomalous Cepheids (V ∼ 19 mag). To achieve this goal, deep B,V time-series photometry of the galaxy has been obtained with the Wide Field Imagers (WFIs) of the ESO 2.2 m and CTIO 4 m telescopes, and the Clay camera at the Magellan 6.5 m telescope. Preliminary results are presented on the Oosterhoff classification of the RR Lyrae stars identified in a northern portion of Fornax field and in three of its globular clusters....
- ItemThe Oosterhoff Dichotomy in the Milky Way and Other Local Group Galaxies(2010) Smith, Horace A.; Catelan, Marcio; Clementini, G.; Kuehn, C.; Pritzl, B.; Beers, T.; De Lee, N.; Kinemuchi, K.; Greco, C.; Ripepi, V.; Marconi, M.; Musella, I.; Moretti, M. I.; Dall'Ora, M.; Contreras, R.; Zorotovic, M.In 1939, P. Th. Oosterhoff investigated the properties of RR Lyrae stars in five of the globular clusters of the Milky Way. He discovered that these clusters divided into two groups, now known as Oosterhoff groups I and II, on the basis of the properties of their RR Lyrae stars. Subsequent studies of RR Lyrae variables in additional globular clusters found that most Milky Way globular clusters that contain significant numbers of RR Lyrae stars fall into one or another of the two Oosterhoff groups. Moreover, globular clusters of Oosterhoff group I tend to be more metal-rich than those of Oosterhoff group II. However, the dwarf galaxies surrounding the Milky Way, and their globular clusters, do not exhibit the Oosterhoff dichotomy. Moreover, the bulge globular clusters NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 cannot be easily assigned to one of the traditional Oosterhoff groups. We will discuss the implications of the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the Oosterhoff gap for stellar evolution and for the formation and evolution of the Galactic halo. This work has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation....
- ItemVariable stars in Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy(2005) Greco, C.; Clementini, G.; Held, E. V.; Poretti, E.; Catelan, Marcio; Dell'Arciprete, L.; Gullieuszik, M.; Maio, M.; Rizzi, L.; Smith, H. A.; Pritzl, B. J.; Rest, A.; De Lee, N.We present the first results of a variable star search in the field and in the globular clusters of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Variable stars were identified using the Image Subtraction Technique (Alard 2000) on time-series data obtained with the ESO 2.2 m and the Magellan 6.5 m telescopes. The variable star sample includes RR Lyrae stars, Dwarf Cepheids and Anomalous Cepheids. The pulsation properties (namely: periods, light curves, period-amplitude relations and classification in Oosterhoff types) of Fornax variables from the present study are discussed in some detail....
- ItemVariable Stars in Large Magellanic Cloud Globular Clusters. III. Reticulum(2013) Kuehn, C. A.; Dame, K.; Smith, H. A.; Catelan, Márcio; Walker, A. R.; Kunder, A.; Pritzl, B. J.; De Lee, N.; Borissova, J.
- ItemVariable Stars in the LMC Globular Cluster NGC 1754(2006) Kuehn, Charles A., III; Taylor, L.; Smith, H. A.; Catelan, Marcio; Pritzl, B. J.; De Lee, N.We have used BVI observations taken with the SMARTS 1.3m telescope and with the SOAR telescope to identify variable stars in the vicinity of the old LMC cluster NGC 1754. We present light curves and periods for the variables and classify the variables according to type. The probability that the RR Lyrae stars found in the neighborhood of NGC 1754 actually belong to the cluster is discussed. Unlike most globular clusters of the Milky Way halo, many of the old star clusters of the LMC have Oosterhoff intermediate properties. The Oosterhoff classification of field and cluster RR Lyrae stars near NGC 1754 is considered. We thank the NSF for partial support of this research....