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Eva K. Grebel

Publications and source records attributed to Eva K. Grebel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The abundance of satellites around Milky Way- and M31-like galaxies with the TNG50 simulation: a matter of diversity

We study the abundance of satellite galaxies around 198 Milky Way- (MW) and M31-like hosts in TNG50, the final instalment in the IllustrisTNG suite of cosmological magnetohydrodynamical simulations. MW/M31-like analogues are defined as disky galaxies with stellar masses of Mstar = 10^10.5-11.2 Msun in relative isolation at z = 0. By defining satellites as galaxies with Mstar > 5*10^6 Msun within 300 kpc (3D) of their host, we find a remarkable level of diversity and host-to-host scatter across individual host galaxies. The median (16th - 84th percentiles) TNG50 MW/M31-like galaxy hosts a total of 5 (2-11) satellites with Mstar > 5*10^6 Msun, reaching up to Mstar ~ 10^8.5 Msun (10^7.4-9.4 Msun). The abundance of subhaloes with Mdyn > 5*10^7 Msun is larger by a factor of more than 10. The number of all satellites (subhaloes) ever accreted is larger by a factor of 4-5 (3-5) than those surviving to z = 0. Hosts with larger galaxy stellar mass, brighter K-band luminosity, larger total halo mass, and more recent halo assembly typically have a larger number of surviving satellites. The satellite abundances around TNG50 MW/M31-like galaxies are consistent with similar hosts from observational surveys (e.g. SAGA) and previous simulations (e.g. Latte). While the observed MW satellite system falls within the TNG50 scatter across all stellar masses considered, M31 is slightly more satellite-rich than our 1 sigma scatter, possibly due to volume and mass limitations. We find a handful of systems with both a Large and a Small Magellanic Cloud-like satellite. There is no missing satellites problem with TNG50.

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The Dependence of the Hierarchical Distribution of Star Clusters on Galactic Environment

We use the angular Two Point Correlation Function (TPCF) to investigate the hierarchical distribution of young star clusters in 12 local (3--18 Mpc) star-forming galaxies using star cluster catalogues obtained with the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} (\textit{HST}) as part of the Treasury Program LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey). The sample spans a range of different morphological types, allowing us to infer how the physical properties of the galaxy affect the spatial distribution of the clusters. We also prepare a range of physically motivated toy models to compare with and interpret the observed features in the TPCFs. We find that, conforming to earlier studies, young clusters ($T \la 10\, \mathrm{Myr}$) have power-law TPCFs that are characteristic of fractal distributions with a fractal dimension $D_2$, and this scale-free nature extends out to a maximum scale $l_{\mathrm{corr}}$ beyond which the distribution becomes Poissonian. However, $l_{\mathrm{corr}}$, and $D_2$ vary significantly across the sample, and are correlated with a number of host galaxy physical properties, suggesting that there are physical differences in the underlying star cluster distributions. We also find that hierarchical structuring weakens with age, evidenced by flatter TPCFs for older clusters ($T \ga 10\, \mathrm{Myr}$), that eventually converges to the residual correlation expected from a completely random large-scale radial distribution of clusters in the galaxy in $\sim 100 \, \mathrm{Myr}$. Our study demonstrates that the hierarchical distribution of star clusters evolves with age, and is strongly dependent on the properties of the host galaxy environment.

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Metallicity estimation of RR Lyrae stars from their I-band light curves

We have revisited the problem of metallicity prediction of RR Lyrae stars from their near-infrared light curves in the Cousins I waveband. Our study is based on high-quality time-series photometry and state-of-the-art high-resolution spectroscopic abundance measurements of 80 fundamental-mode (RRab) and 24 first-overtone (RRc) stars, spanning $\sim$[$-2.7$,$+0.18$] dex and $\sim$[$-3$,$-0.5$] dex ranges, respectively. Employing machine-learning methods, we investigated various light-curve representations and regression models to identify their optimal form for our objective. Accurate new empirical relations between the [Fe/H] iron abundance and the light-curve parameters have been obtained using Bayesian regression for both RRab and RRc stars with mean absolute prediction errors of 0.16 and 0.18 dex, respectively. We found that earlier $I$-band [Fe/H] estimates had a systematic positive bias of up to $\sim 0.4$ dex in the metal-poor regime. Our new predictive models were deployed on large ensembles of RR Lyrae stars to obtain photometric metallicity distribution functions (MDFs) for various old stellar populations in and around the Milky Way. We find that the mode of the old bulge component's MDF is approximately $-1.4$ dex, in remarkable agreement with the latest spectroscopic result. Furthermore, we derive MDF modes of $-1.83$, $-2.13$, and $-1.77$ dex for the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, respectively.

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RR Lyrae Stars In Stellar Streams with Gaia: The Escapers

We attempt to identify RR Lyrae (RRL) stars in stellar streams that might have escaped from seven globular clusters (GCs) based on proper motions, distances, color-magnitude diagrams, and other properties extracted from the Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) database. Specifically, we cross-match two large RRL stars catalogs (from Gaia DR2 and Catalina Sky Survey) with each other and with the EDR3 database and we end up with a sample of ~ 150,000 unique RRL stars. We calculate distances to RRL stars using the (M_G-[Fe/H]) and (M_V-[Fe/H]) absolute magnitude-metallicity relations and adopt [Fe/H] values for the GCs from different spectroscopic studies. We also constrain our search in areas where stellar streams associated with GCs were previously suggested or identified in other studies. We identify 24 RRL stars that might have escaped from the following seven GCs: Palomar 13 (Pal 13), NGC 6341 (M92), NGC 5904 (M5), NGC 5466, NGC 1261, NGC 288, and NGC 1851. We list our findings in Table 2.

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A revisited study of Cepheids in open clusters in the Gaia era

In this paper we revisit the problem of identifying bona fide cluster Cepheids by performing an all-sky search for Cepheids associated with open clusters and making use of state-of-the-art catalogued information for both Cepheids and clusters, based on the unparalleled astrometric precision of the second and early third data releases of the Gaia satellite. We determine membership probabilities by following a Bayesian approach using spatial and kinematic information of the potential cluster-Cepheid pairs. We confirm 19 Cepheid-cluster associations considered in previous studies as bona-fide, and question the established cluster membership of six other associations. In addition, we identify 138 cluster Cepheid candidates of potential interest, mostly in recently discovered open clusters. We report on at least two new clusters possibly hosting more than one Cepheid. Furthermore, we explore the feasibility of using open clusters hosting Cepheids to empirically determine the Cepheid period-age relation through the use of Gaia and 2MASS photometry and a semi-automated method to derive cluster ages. We conclude that the usage of cluster Cepheids as tentative probes of the period-age relations still faces difficulties due to the sparsely populated red giant branch and the stochastically sampled main-sequence turn-off of the open clusters, making age determinations a challenging task. This biases the age-dateable cluster selection for Cepheid period-age studies towards older and high-mass clusters.

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Brought to Light I: Quantification of Disk Substructure in Dwarf Early-Type Galaxies

Dwarf early-type galaxies (ETGs) display a rich diversity in their photometric, structural, and dynamical properties. In this work, we address their structural complexity by studying with deep imaging a sample of nine dwarf ETGs from the Virgo galaxy cluster, characterized by having faint disk features, such as bars and spiral arms, which lie mostly hidden within the bright diffuse light of the galaxies. We present a new, robust method that aims to identify and extract the disk substructure embedded in these dwarf ETGs. The method consists in an iterative procedure that gradually separates a galaxy image into two components; the bright, dominant diffuse component, and the much fainter, underlying disk component. By applying it to the dwarf ETG sample, we quantify their disk substructure and find that its relative contribution to the total galaxy light ranges between 2.2 to 6.4% within two effective radii. We test the reliability of the method, and prove that it is accurate in recovering the disk substructure we introduce in mock galaxy images, even at low disk-to-total light fractions of a few percent. As a potential application of the method, we perform a Fourier analysis on the extracted disk substructures and measure the orientation, length, and strength of the bars, and the pitch angle and strength of the spiral arms. We also briefly discuss a scenario based on the numerical simulations presented in our companion paper, Brought to Light II: Smith et al. 2021, in which we investigate the origins of the substructure in such dwarf systems.

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Brought to Light II: Revealing the Origins of Cloaked Spiral Features in Cluster Passive Dwarf Galaxies

In our companion paper (Brought to Light I: Michea et al. 2021), we reveal spectacular spiral galaxy-like features in deep optical imaging of nine Virgo early-type dwarf galaxies, hidden beneath a dominating smooth stellar disk. Using a new combination of approaches, we find that bar- and spiral-like features contribute 2.2-6.4% of the total flux within 2 R$_{\rm{eff}}$. In this study, we conduct high resolution simulations of cluster harassment of passive dwarf galaxies. Following close pericenter passages of the cluster core, tidal triggering generates features in our model disks that bear a striking resemblance to the observed features. However, we find the disks must be highly rotationally supported (V$_{\rm{peak}}/σ_0 \sim 3$), much higher than typically observed. We propose that some early-type dwarfs may contain a few percent of their mass in a cold, thin disk which is buried in the light of a hot, diffuse disk, and only revealed when they undergo tidal triggering. The red optical colors of our sample do not indicate any recent significant star formation, and our simulations show that very plunging pericenter passages (r$_{\rm{peri}}<0.25$r$_{\rm{vir}}$) are required for tidal triggering. Thus, many cluster early-type dwarfs with less plunging orbits may host a yet undetected cold stellar disk component. We discuss possible origin scenarios and consider why similar mass star-forming galaxies in the field are significantly more thin disk dominated than in our cluster sample.

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Revisiting Attenuation Curves: the Case of NGC 3351

Multi-wavelength images from the farUV (~0.15 micron) to the sub-millimeter of the central region of the galaxy NGC 3351 are analyzed to constrain its stellar populations and dust attenuation. Despite hosting a ~1 kpc circumnuclear starburst ring, NGC 3351 deviates from the IRX-beta relation, the relation between the infrared-to-UV luminosity ratio and the UV continuum slope (beta) that other starburst galaxies follow. To understand the reason for the deviation, we leverage the high angular resolution of archival nearUV-to-nearIR HST images to divide the ring into ~60-180 pc size regions and model each individually. We find that the UV slope of the combined intrinsic (dust-free) stellar populations in the central region is redder than what is expected for a young model population. This is due to the region's complex star formation history, which boosts the nearUV emission relative to the farUV. The resulting net attenuation curve has a UV slope that lies between those of the starburst attenuation curve (Calzetti et al. 2000) and the Small Magellanic Cloud extinction curve; the total-to-selective attenuation value, R'(V)=4.93, is larger than both. As found for other star-forming galaxies, the stellar continuum of NGC 3351 is less attenuated than the ionized gas, with E(B-V)_{star}=0.40 E(B-V)_{gas}. The combination of the `red' intrinsic stellar population and the new attenuation curve fully accounts for the location of the central region of NGC 3351 on the IRX-beta diagram. Thus, the observed characteristics result from the complex mixture of stellar populations and dust column densities in the circumnuclear region. Despite being a sample of one, these findings highlight the difficulty of defining attenuation curves of general applicability outside the regime of centrally-concentrated starbursts.

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Kinematics and Multi Band Period-Luminosity-Metallicity Relation of RR Lyrae Stars via Statistical Parallax

This paper presents results from photometric and statistical-parallax analysis of a sample of 850 field RR Lyrae (RRL) variables. The photometric and spectroscopic data for sample RRLs are obtained from (1) our new spectroscopic observations (for 448 RRLs) carried out with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT); (2) our photometric observations using the 1.0-m telescope of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), and (3) literature. These are combined with accurate proper motion data from the second release of \textit{Gaia} mission (DR2). This study primarily determines the velocity distribution of solar neighborhood RRLs, and it also calibrates the zero points of the RRLs visual V-band luminosity-metallicity (LZ or $M_V-$[\text{Fe/H}]) relation and their period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) relations in the \textit{WISE} $W_1-$ and \textit{2MASS} $Ks-$band. The calibrated PLZ and LZ relations are used to estimate the Galactic Center distance and the distance modulus of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which are found to be 7.99$\pm$0.49\,kpc and 18.46$\pm$0.09 \,mag, respectively. All our results are in excellent agreement with available literature based on statistical parallax analysis, but are considerably more accurate and precise. Moreover, the zero-points of our calibrated PLZ and LZ relations are quite consistent with current results found by other techniques and yield the LMC distance modulus that is within 0.04\,mag of the current most precise estimate.

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Classical Cepheids in open clusters in the era of Gaia DR2

Classical Cepheids in open clusters are key ingredients for stellar population studies and the characterization of variable stars, as they are tracers of young and massive populations and of recent star formation episodes. Cluster Cepheids are of particular importance since they can be age dated by using the cluster's stellar population to obtain the Cepheid period-luminosity-age relation. In this contribution, we present the preliminary results of an all-sky search for classical Cepheids in Galactic open clusters by taking advantage of the unprecedented astrometric precision of the second data release of the Gaia satellite. To do this, we determined membership probabilities by performing a Bayesian analysis based on the spatial distribution of Cepheids and clusters, and their kinematics. Here we describe our adopted methodology.

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A systematic DECam search for RR Lyrae in the outer halo of the Milky Way

The discovery of very distant stars in the halo of the Milky Way provides valuable tracers on the Milky Way mass and its formation. Beyond 100 kpc from the Galactic center, most of the stars are likely to be in faint dwarf galaxies or tidal debris from recently accreted dwarfs, making the outer reaches of the Galaxy important for understanding the Milky Way's accretion history. However, distant stars in the halo are scarce. In that context, RR Lyrae are ideal probes of the distant halo as they are intrinsically bright and thus can be seen at large distances, follow well-known period-luminosity relations that enable precise distance measurements, and are easily identifiable in time-series data. Therefore, a detailed study of RR Lyrae will help us understand the accreted outskirts of the Milky Way. In this contribution, we present the current state of our systematic search for distant RR Lyrae stars in the halo using the DECam imager at the 4m telescope on Cerro Tololo (Chile). The total surveyed area consists of more than 110 DECam fields (~ 350 sq. deg) and includes two recent independent campaigns carried out in 2017 and 2018 with which we have detected > 650 candidate RR Lyrae stars. Here we describe the methodology followed to analyze the two latest campaigns. Our catalog contains a considerable number of candidate RR Lyrae beyond 100 kpc, and reaches out up to ~ 250 kpc. The number of distant RR Lyrae found is consistent with recent studies of the outer halo. These stars provide a set of important probes of the mass of the Milky Way, the nature of the halo, and the accretion history of the Galactic outskirts.

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Neutron-capture elements in dwarf galaxies III: A homogenized analysis of 13 dwarf spheroidal and ultra-faint galaxies

We present a large homogeneous set of stellar parameters and abundances across a broad range of metallicities, involving $13$ classical dwarf spheroidal (dSph) and ultra-faint dSph (UFD) galaxies. In total this study includes $380$ stars in Fornax, Sagittarius, Sculptor, Sextans, Carina, Ursa Minor, Draco, Reticulum II, Bootes I, Ursa Major II, Leo I, Segue I, and Triangulum II. This sample represents the largest, homogeneous, high-resolution study of dSph galaxies to date. With our homogeneously derived catalog, we are able to search for similar and deviating trends across different galaxies. We investigate the mass dependence of the individual systems on the production of $α$-elements, but also try to shed light on the long-standing puzzle of the dominant production site of r-process elements. We use data from the Keck observatory archive and the ESO reduced archive to reanalyze stars from these $13$ dSph galaxies. We automatize the step of obtaining stellar parameters, but run a full spectrum synthesis to derive all abundances except for iron. The homogenized set of abundances yielded the unique possibility to derive a relation between the onset of type Ia supernovae and the stellar mass of the galaxy. Furthermore, we derived a formula to estimate the evolution of $α$-elements. Placing all abundances consistently on the same scale is crucial to answer questions about the chemical history of galaxies. By homogeneously analysing Ba and Eu in the 13 systems, we have traced the onset of the s-process and found it to increase with metallicity as a function of the galaxy's stellar mass. Moreover, the r-process material correlates with the $α$-elements indicating some co-production of these, which in turn would point towards rare core-collapse supernovae rather than binary neutron star mergers as host for the r-process at low [Fe/H] in the investigated dSph systems.

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On the accretion of a new group of galaxies onto Virgo: I. Internal kinematics of nine in-falling dEs

Galaxy environment has been shown to play an important role in transforming late-type, star-forming galaxies to quiescent spheroids. This transformation is expected to be more severe for low-mass galaxies (M < $10^{10}$ \(M_\odot\)) in dense galaxy groups and clusters, mostly due to the influence of their past host halos (also known as pre-processing) and their present-day environments. For the first time, in this study, we investigate a sample of nine early-type dwarf galaxies (dEs) that were accreted as a likely bound group onto the Virgo galaxy cluster about 2-3 Gyr ago. Considering this special condition, these nine dEs may provide a test bed for distinguishing between the influence of the Virgo galaxy cluster and the effects of the previous host halo on their current properties. Specifically, we use VLT/MUSE integral-field unit spectra to derive their kinematics and specific angular momentum ($λ_{R}$) profiles. We observe a spread in the $λ_{R}$ profiles of our sample dEs, finding that the $λ_{R}$ profiles of half of them are as high as those of low-mass field galaxies. The remaining dEs exhibit $λ_{R}$ profiles as low as those of Virgo dEs that were likely accreted longer ago. Moreover, we detect nebular emission in one dE with a gas velocity offset suggesting ongoing gas stripping in Virgo. We suggest that the low-$λ_{R}$ dEs in our sample were processed by their previous host halo, prior to their infall to Virgo, and that the high-$λ_{R}$ dEs may be experiencing ram pressure stripping in Virgo.

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The $R$-Process Alliance: Fourth Data Release from the Search for $r$-Process-Enhanced Stars in the Galactic Halo

This compilation is the fourth data release from the $R$-Process Alliance (RPA) search for $r$-process-enhanced stars, and the second release based on "snapshot" high-resolution ($R \sim 30,000$) spectra collected with the du Pont 2.5m Telescope. In this data release, we propose a new delineation between the $r$-I and $r$-II stellar classes at $\mathrm{[Eu/Fe]} = +0.7$, instead of the empirically chosen $\mathrm{[Eu/Fe]} = +1.0$ level previously in use, based on statistical tests of the complete set of RPA data released to date. We also statistically justify the minimum level of [Eu/Fe] for definition of the $r$-I stars, [Eu/Fe] $> +0.3$. Redefining the separation between $r$-I and $r$-II stars will aid in analysis of the possible progenitors of these two classes of stars and whether these signatures arise from separate astrophysical sources at all. Applying this redefinition to previous RPA data, the number of identified $r$-II and $r$-I stars changes to 51 and 121, respectively, from the initial set of data releases published thus far. In this data release, we identify 21 new $r$-II, 111 new $r$-I (plus three re-identified), and 7 new (plus one re-identified) limited-$r$ stars out of a total of 232 target stars, resulting in a total sample of 72 new $r$-II stars, 232 new $r$-I stars, and 42 new limited-$r$ stars identified by the RPA to date.

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Near-Infrared Search for Fundamental-mode RR Lyrae Stars Toward the Inner Bulge by Deep Learning

Aiming to extend the census of RR Lyrae stars to highly reddened low-latitude regions of the central Milky Way, we performed a deep near-IR variability search using data from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey of the bulge, analyzing the photometric time series of over a hundred million point sources. In order to separate fundamental-mode RR Lyrae (RRab) stars from other periodically variable sources, we trained a deep bidirectional long short-term memory recurrent neural network (RNN) classifier using VVV survey data and catalogs of RRab stars discovered and classified by optical surveys. Our classifier attained a ~99% precision and recall for light curves with signal-to-noise ratio above 60, and is comparable to the best-performing classifiers trained on accurate optical data. Using our RNN classifier, we identified over 4300 hitherto unknown bona fide RRab stars toward the inner bulge. We provide their photometric catalog and VVV J,H,Ks photometric time-series.

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The Sixth Data Release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) -- II: Stellar Atmospheric Parameters, Chemical Abundances and Distances

We present part 2 of the 6th and final Data Release (DR6 or FDR) of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE), a magnitude-limited (9<I<12) spectroscopic survey of Galactic stars randomly selected in the southern hemisphere. The RAVE medium-resolution spectra (R~7500) cover the Ca-triplet region (8410-8795A) and span the complete time frame from the start of RAVE observations on 12 April 2003 to their completion on 4 April 2013. In the second of two publications, we present the data products derived from 518387 observations of 451783 unique stars using a suite of advanced reduction pipelines focussing on stellar atmospheric parameters, in particular purely spectroscopically derived stellar atmospheric parameters (Teff, log(g), and the overall metallicity), enhanced stellar atmospheric parameters inferred via a Bayesian pipeline using Gaia DR2 astrometric priors, and asteroseismically calibrated stellar atmospheric parameters for giant stars based on asteroseismic observations for 699 K2 stars. In addition, we provide abundances of the elements Fe, Al, and Ni, as well as an overall [alpha/Fe] ratio obtained using a new pipeline based on the GAUGUIN optimization method that is able to deal with variable signal-to-noise ratios. The RAVE DR6 catalogs are cross matched with relevant astrometric and photometric catalogs, and are complemented by orbital parameters and effective temperatures based on the infrared flux method. The data can be accessed via the RAVE Web site (http://rave-survey.org) or the Vizier database.

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The Sixth Data Release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) -- I: Survey Description, Spectra and Radial Velocities

The Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) is a magnitude-limited (9<I<12) spectroscopic survey of Galactic stars randomly selected in the southern hemisphere. The RAVE medium-resolution spectra (R~7500) cover the Ca-triplet region (8410-8795A). The 6th and final data release (DR6 or FDR) is based on 518387 observations of 451783 unique stars. RAVE observations were taken between 12 April 2003 and 4 April 2013. Here we present the genesis, setup and data reduction of RAVE as well as wavelength-calibrated and flux-normalized spectra and error spectra for all observations in RAVE DR6. Furthermore, we present derived spectral classification and radial velocities for the RAVE targets, complemented by cross matches with Gaia DR2 and other relevant catalogs. A comparison between internal error estimates, variances derived from stars with more than one observing epoch and a comparison with radial velocities of Gaia DR2 reveals consistently that 68% of the objects have a velocity accuracy better than 1.4 km/s, while 95% of the objects have radial velocities better than 4.0 km/s. Stellar atmospheric parameters, abundances and distances are presented in subsequent publication. The data can be accessed via the RAVE Web (http://rave-survey.org) or the Vizier database.

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On the optimal calibration of VVV photometry

Prompted by some inconsistencies in the photometry of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey, we conduct a revision of the standard calibration procedure of VISTA data in the $J$, $H$, and $K_S$ passbands. Two independent sources of bias in the photometric zero-points are identified: First, high sky backgrounds severely affect the $H$-band measurements, but this can mostly be minimized by strict data vetting. Secondly, during the zero-point calibration, stars serving as standards are taken from the 2MASS catalog, which can suffer from high degrees of blending in regions of high stellar density, affecting both the absolute photometric calibration, as well as the scatter of repeated observations. The former affects studies that rely on an absolute magnitude scale, while the latter can also affect the shapes and amount of scatter in the VVV light curves, thus potentially hampering their proper classification. We show that these errors can be effectively eliminated by relatively simple modifications of the standard calibration procedure, and demonstrate the effect of the recalibration on the VVV survey's data quality. We give recommendations for future improvements of the pipeline calibration of VISTA photometry, while also providing preliminary corrections to the VVV $JHK_\mathrm{S}$ observations as a temporary measure.

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