Period Changes in Galactic Classical Cepheids. Slow Evolution of Long-period Cepheids

We compared period changes derived from O-C diagrams for 63 classical Cepheids from our Galaxy with model calculations. We found that for Cepheids with log P > 1.0 the observed changes are smaller than predicted values, except variable SZ Cas. However some of the first overtone Cepheids, particularly EU Tau and Polaris, change its period much faster than it follows from theory. Summary of the known data on the period changes in Cepheids from the Galaxy and from the Magellanic Clouds (previous papers) leads to conclusion that none of the 999 Cepheid is undergoing the first crossing of the instability strip. Also the observed period changes for long-period Cepheids are a few times slower than predicted by the models. These results imply that much larger fraction of helium is burnt in the Cepheid stage than it is predicted by models.Comment: 13 pages with 6 figures, accepted for publication in Acta Astronomic

RR Lyrae stars as probes of the Milky Way structure and formation

RR Lyrae stars being distance indicators and tracers of old population serve as excellent probes of the structure, formation, and evolution of our Galaxy. Thousands of them are being discovered in ongoing wide-field surveys. The OGLE project conducts the Galaxy Variability Survey with the aim to detect and analyze variable stars, in particular of RRab type, toward the Galactic bulge and disk, covering a total area of 3000 deg^2. Observations in these directions also allow detecting background halo variables and unique studies of their properties and distribution at distances from the Galactic Center to even 40 kpc. In this contribution, we present the first results on the spatial distribution of the observed RRab stars, their metallicity distribution, the presence of multiple populations, and relations with the old bulge. We also show the most recent results from the analysis of RR Lyrae stars of the Sgr dwarf spheroidal galaxy, including its center, the globular cluster M54.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, contribution to IAU Symposium 317, "The General Assembly of Galaxy Halos: Structure, Origin and Evolution", proceedings to be publishe

Searching for Variable Stars in the Central Part of the Globular Cluster M22

Time-series data taken with the Hubble Space Telescope of three fields covering the central part of the globular cluster M22 have been analyzed in search of variable objects. We report identification of 11 periodic variables of which 8 are new discoveries. The sample includes 5 certain contact binaries as well as 1 SX Phe star. Two objects with periods longer than 1 day are preliminarily classified as either spotted variables of BY Dra type or ellipsoidal variables. The most unusual of the identified variables, M22_V11, has I_C=19.9 and is located far to the red of the main sequence in the cluster color-magnitude diagram. It shows variability with a period as short as P=0.066 days or alternatively with P=0.132 days. We propose that it may be an ellipsoidal variable harboring a degenerate component.Comment: 10 pages with 4 figures, already published in Acta Astronomica vol. 53, p. 37

Variable Stars in the Archival HST Data of Globular Clusters M13, M30 and NGC 6712

We have analyzed archival HST/WFPC2 time-series data of the central parts of globular clusters M13, M30 and NGC 6712 in search of variable objects. Among a total of 21 identified variables there are 15 new discoveries. The sample includes nine RR Lyr stars, two SX Phe stars and seven W UMa-type contact binaries. One object is preliminarily classified as a detached eclipsing binary and another as an ellipsoidal variable.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Acta Astronomic

H-alpha Imaging of X-ray Sources in Selected Globular Clusters with the SOAR Telescope

We present results of a search for objects with H-alpha excess, such as cataclysmic variables (CVs) and chromospherically active binaries (ABs), as counterparts to X-ray sources detected with Chandra satellite observatory in six Galactic globular clusters (GCs): M4, M28, M30, M71, M80, NGC 6752. Binary systems play a critical role in the evolution of GCs, serving as an internal energy source countering the tendency of GC cores to collapse. Theoretical studies predict dozens of CVs in the cores of some GCs (e.g., 130 for M28, 40 for M30). A number of such binaries is also expected outside the core radius. However, few CVs are known so far in GCs. Using subtraction technique applied to images taken with the 4.1-m SOAR telescope we have found 27 objects with H-alpha excess in the field of the observed clusters, of which nine are likely associated with the clusters. Four are candidate CVs, four candidate ABs, one could be either a CV or an AB. One H-alpha object seems to be a background galaxy, while other 17 detected objects are probably foreground or background stars.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Acta Astronomic

On the Properties of Blue Large-Amplitude Pulsators. No BLAPs in the Magellanic Clouds

We present the properties of the recently discovered class of variable stars, Blue Large-Amplitude Pulsators (BLAPs). These extremely rare, short-period pulsating objects were detected thanks to regular, high-cadence observations of hundreds of millions of Milky Way stars by the OGLE variability survey. The new variables closely resemble classical pulsators, Cepheids, and RR Lyrae-type stars, but at effective temperatures at which pulsations are due to the presence of iron-group elements. Theory shows that BLAPs are evolved low-mass stars with a giant-like structure, but their origin remains a mystery. In this contribution, we report the negative result of a search for BLAPs in the whole Magellanic System.Comment: 5 pages; to be published in the proceedings of "The RR Lyrae 2017 Conference. Revival of the Classical Pulsators: from Galactic Structure to Stellar Interior Diagnostics" held in Niepolomice, Poland 17-21 September 201

Period Changes of the SMC Cepheids from the Harvard, OGLE and ASAS Data

Comparison of the old observations of Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud from the Harvard data archive, with the recent OGLE and ASAS observations allows an estimate of their period changes. All of matched 557 Cepheids are still pulsating in the same mode. One of the Harvard Cepheid, HV 11289, has been tentatively matched to a star which is now apparently constant. Cepheids with log P > 0.8 show significant period changes, positive as well as negative. We found that for many stars these changes are significantly smaller than predicted by recent model calculations. Unfortunately, there are no models available for Cepheids with periods longer than approximatelly 80 days, while there are observed Cepheids with periods up to 210 days.Comment: small changes, 15 pages with 7 figures, latex, published in Acta Astronomica, 52, 17

No large population of unbound or wide-orbit Jupiter-mass planets

Gravitational microlensing is the only method capable of exploring the entire population of free-floating planets down to Mars-mass objects, because the microlensing signal does not depend on the brightness of the lensing object. A characteristic timescale of microlensing events depends on the mass of the lens: the less massive the lens, the shorter the microlensing event. A previous analysis of 474 microlensing events found an excess of very short events (1-2 days) - more than known stellar populations would suggest - indicating the existence of a large population of unbound or wide-orbit Jupiter-mass planets (reported to be almost twice as common as main-sequence stars). These results, however, do not match predictions of planet formation theories and are in conflict with surveys of young clusters. Here we report the analysis of a six times larger sample of microlensing events discovered during the years 2010-2015. Although our survey has very high sensitivity (detection efficiency) to short-timescale (1--2 days) microlensing events, we found no excess of events with timescales in this range, with a 95% upper limit on the frequency of Jupiter-mass free-floating or wide-orbit planets of 0.25 planet per main-sequence star. We detected a few possible ultrashort-timescale events (with timescales of less than 0.5 day), which may indicate the existence of Earth- and super-Earth-mass free-floating planets, as predicted by planet-formation theories. [abridged]Comment: published in Nature, authors' version (see nature.com for the published version

OGLE-III Microlensing Events and the Structure of the Galactic Bulge

We present and study the largest and the most comprehensive catalog of microlensing events ever constructed. The sample of standard microlensing events comprises 3718 unique events from years 2001--2009, with 1409 not detected before in real-time by the Early Warning System of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE). The search pipeline makes use of Machine Learning algorithms in order to help find rare phenomena among 150 million objects and derive the detection efficiency. Applications of the catalog can be numerous, from analyzing individual events to large statistical studies for the Galactic mass and kinematics distributions and planetary abundances. We derive the maps of the mean Einstein ring crossing time of events spanning 31 sq. deg. toward of the Galactic Center and compare the observed distributions with the most recent models. We find good agreement within the observed region and we see the signature of the tilt of the bar in the microlensing data. However, the asymmetry of the mean time-scales seems to rise more steeply than predictions, indicating either a somewhat different orientation of the bar or a larger bar width. The map for the events with sources in the Galactic bulge shows a dependence of the mean time-scale on the Galactic latitude, signaling an increasing contribution from disk lenses closer to the plane, related with the height of the disk. Our data present a perfect set for comparing and enhancing new models of the central parts of the Milky Way and creating the 3D picture of the Galaxy.Comment: 30 pages. Published in ApJS. On-line data available on the OGLE website: http://ogle.astrouw.edu.p

Microlensing optical depth and event rate in the OGLE-IV Galactic plane fields

Searches for gravitational microlensing events are traditionally concentrated on the central regions of the Galactic bulge but many microlensing events are expected to occur in the Galactic plane, far from the Galactic Center. Owing to the difficulty in conducting high-cadence observations of the Galactic plane over its vast area, which are necessary for the detection of microlensing events, their global properties were hitherto unknown. Here, we present results of the first comprehensive search for microlensing events in the Galactic plane. We searched an area of almost 3000 square degrees along the Galactic plane (|b| < 7°, 0° < l < 50°, 190° < l < 360°) observed by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) during 2013–2019 and detected 630 events. We demonstrate that the mean Einstein timescales of Galactic plane microlensing events are on average three times longer than those of Galactic bulge events, with little dependence on the Galactic longitude. We also measure the microlensing optical depth and event rate as a function of Galactic longitude and demonstrate that they exponentially decrease with the angular distance from the Galactic Center (with the characteristic angular scale length of 32°). The average optical depth decreases from 0.5 × 10⁻⁶ at l = 10° to 1.5 × 10⁻⁸ in the Galactic anticenter. We also find that the optical depth in the longitude range 240° < l < 330° is asymmetric about the Galactic equator, which we interpret as a signature of the Galactic warp