RR Lyrae Stars in the Bootes dSph

We present a catalog of 15 RR Lyrae variable stars in the recently discovered Bootes galaxy -- the most metal-poor simple stellar population with measured RR Lyrae stars. The pulsational properties of the RR Lyrae conform closely to period-abundance trends extrapolated from more metal-rich populations and we estimate the distance of Bootes to be (m-M)_0=18.96+-0.12. The average period (0.69 days), the ratio of type c to type ab pulsators (0.53) and the RRab period shift (-0.07) indicate an Oosterhoff II classification for Bootes, a marked contrast to the other dSph galaxies, which are Oosterhoff intermediate. This supports the contention that the Oosterhoff dichotomy is a continuum -- that RR Lyrae properties, to first order, vary smoothly with abundance. The dSph galaxies are not distinct from the Galactic globular clusters, but bridge the Oosterhoff gap. The absence of any anomalous Cepheids in Bootes could indicate the lack of an intermediate age population.Comment: 16 pages, submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letter

Far-Ultraviolet Observations of RR Lyrae Stars in the Core of NGC 1851

There are extraordinarily few far ultraviolet observations of RR Lyrae stars in the literature. We present Hubble Space Telescope FUV (~1600 A) imaging of the core of the globular cluster NGC 1851. Eleven new variables whose light curves are consistent with those of RR Lyr stars are discovered, increasing the total number of RR Lyr known in this cluster by a substantial amount. In agreement with basic physical theory, the observed amplitude of the variables in the FUV is enormous compared with the century of past optical observations, ranging up to 4 mag. HST STIS FUV observations of cluster cores may prove an especially effective means of obtaining a near-complete census of RR Lyr stars, combining high angular resolution, suppression of luminous red stars, and data where the stellar pulsation amplitudes are greatly enhanced. Attention is also drawn to a peculiar blue object in the cluster that is most probably a low mass x-ray binary system in quiescence.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 128, Nov. 2004, 13 pages, 4 figures, AASTeX v5.

The infrared JHK light curves of RR Lyr

We present infrared JHK time series photometry of the variable star RR Lyr, that allow us to construct the first complete and accurate infrared light curves for this star. The derived mean magnitudes are =6.74 +/- 0.02, =6.60 +/- 0.03 and =6.50 +/- 0.02. The magnitude is used to estimate the reddening, the mass, the mean luminosity and temperature of this variable star. The use of these RR Lyr data provide a more accurate absolute calibration of the P-L_K-[Fe/H] relation, and a distance modulus (m-M)_0=18.48 +/- 0.11 to the globular cluster Reticulum in the LMC.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA

The RR Lyrae Distance Scale

We review seven methods of measuring the absolute magnitude M_V of RR Lyrae stars in light of the Hipparcos mission and other recent developments. We focus on identifying possible systematic errors and rank the methods by relative immunity to such errors. For the three most robust methods, statistical parallax, trigonometric parallax, and cluster kinematics, we find M_V (at [Fe/H] = -1.6) of 0.77 +/- 0.13, 0.71 +/- 0.15, 0.67 +/- 0.10. These methods cluster consistently around 0.71 +/- 0.07. We find that Baade-Wesselink and theoretical models both yield a broad range of possible values (0.45-0.70 and 0.45-0.65) due to systematic uncertainties in the temperature scale and input physics. Main-sequence fitting gives a much brighter M_V = 0.45 +/- 0.04 but this may be due to a difference in the metallicity scales of the cluster giants and the calibrating subdwarfs. White-dwarf cooling-sequence fitting gives 0.67 +/- 0.13 and is potentially very robust, but at present is too new to be fully tested for systematics. If the three most robust methods are combined with Walker's mean measurement for 6 LMC clusters, V_{0,LMC} = 18.98 +/- 0.03 at [Fe/H] = -1.9, then mu_{LMC} = 18.33 +/- 0.08.Comment: Invited review article to appear in: `Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles', A. Heck & F. Caputo (Eds), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in press. 21 pages including 1 table; uses Kluwer's crckapb.sty LaTeX style file, enclose

Intermanifold similarities in partial photoionization cross sections of helium

Using the eigenchannel R-matrix method we calculate partial photoionization cross sections from the ground state of the helium atom for incident photon energies up to the N=9 manifold. The wide energy range covered by our calculations permits a thorough investigation of general patterns in the cross sections which were first discussed by Menzel and co-workers [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 54}, 2080 (1996)]. The existence of these patterns can easily be understood in terms of propensity rules for autoionization. As the photon energy is increased the regular patterns are locally interrupted by perturber states until they fade out indicating the progressive break-down of the propensity rules and the underlying approximate quantum numbers. We demonstrate that the destructive influence of isolated perturbers can be compensated with an energy-dependent quantum defect.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, replacement with some typos correcte

The Luminosities and Distance Scales of Type II Cepheid and RR Lyrae variables

Infrared and optical absolute magnitudes are derived for the type II Cepheids kappa Pav and VY Pyx from revised Hipparcos parallaxes and for kappa Pav, V553 Cen and SW Tau from pulsation parallaxes. Phase-corrected JHK mags are given for 142 RR Lyrae variables based on 2MASS data. RR Lyrae itself is overluminous compared with LMC RR Lyraes at the classical Cepheid modulus (18.39) consistent with a prediction of Catalan and Cortes. V553 Cen and SW Tau deviate by only 0.02 mag in the mean from the Matsunaga PL(K) relation for globular cluster type II Cepheids with a zero-point based on the same LMC modulus. Comparing directly these two stars with type II Cepheids in the LMC and in the Galactic Bulge leads to an LMC modulus of 18.37\pm0.09 and a distance to the Galactic Centre of 7.64\pm 0.21kpc. Kappa Pav may be a binary. V553 Cen and SW Tau show that at optical wavelengths PL relations are wider for field stars than for those in globular clusters (abridged).Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, accepted for MNRA

Quantitative analysis of WC stars: Constraints on neon abundances from ISO/SWS spectroscopy

Neon abundances are derived in four Galactic WC stars -- gamma Vel (WR11, WC8+O7.5III), HD156385 (WR90, WC7), HD192103 (WR135, WC8), and WR146 (WC5+O8) - using mid-infrared fine structure lines obtained with ISO/SWS. Stellar parameters for each star are derived using a non-LTE model atmospheric code (Hillier & Miller 1998) together with ultraviolet (IUE), optical (INT, AAT) and infrared (UKIRT, ISO) spectroscopy. In the case of gamma Vel, we adopt results from De Marco et al. (2000), who followed an identical approach. ISO/SWS datasets reveal the [NeIII] 15.5um line in each of our targets, while [NeII] 12.8um, [SIV] 10.5um and [SIII] 18.7um are observed solely in gamma Vel. Using a method updated from Barlow et al. (1988) to account for clumped winds, we derive Ne/He=3-4x10^-3 by number, plus S/He=6x10^-5 for gamma Vel. Neon is highly enriched, such that Ne/S in gamma Vel is eight times higher than cosmic values. However, observed Ne/He ratios are a factor of two times lower than predictions of current evolutionary models of massive stars. An imprecise mass-loss and distance were responsible for the much greater discrepancy in neon content identified by Barlow et al. Our sample of WC5--8 stars span a narrow range in T* (=55--71kK), with no trend towards higher temperature at earlier spectral type, supporting earlier results for a larger sample by Koesterke & Hamann (1995). Stellar luminosities range from 100,000 to 500,000 Lo, while 10^-5.1 < Mdot/(Mo/yr) < 10^-4.5, adopting clumped winds, in which volume filling factors are 10%. In all cases, wind performance numbers are less than 10, significantly lower than recent estimates. Carbon abundances span 0.08 < C/He < 0.25 by number, while oxygen abundances remain poorly constrained.Comment: 16 pages,7 figures accepted for MNRA

Recombination spectra of Helium-Like Ions

We calculate the recombination spectra of the He-like ions He~I, C~V, N~VI, O~VII, Ne~IX, Mg~XI, Si~XIII, S~XV, Ar~XVII, Ca~XIX, and Fe~XXV. We include the following physical processes: radiative recombination, dielectronic recombination, three-body recombination, electron impact ionization, and collisional excitation by electrons, protons, and $\alpha$-particles. The calculations account for the effects of lowering of the continuum at high densities and high density corrections to dielectronic recombination. Then we construct models for He-like ions for fast computation of their spectra. Every model includes 29 bound levels up to n=5 and 6 doubly excited levels that account for the most important satellite lines. The models are constructed in a way that allows for proper approach to LTE under appropriate conditions. These models can simultaneously solve for the H/He-like ionization balance in photoionized or collisionally ionized plasmas and compute emission spectra including the combined effects of radiative and dielectronic recombination, collisional excitation, photoionization from excited levels, fluorescence, and line trapping. The models can be used for any temperature between 100 and $10^9$K and electron densities of up to $10^{18}$ \cm3. The models can be easily used within spectral modeling codes or as stand-alone tools for spectral analysis. We present comparisons between the results of the present models and previous work. Significant differences are found between the present effective recombination rate coefficients to the $n=2$ and those of previous estimates. Later, we study various emission line ratio diagnostics under collisional ionization and photoionized conditions.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the Ap

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review 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 (GCs) 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. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. 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 Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc