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J. Borissova

Publications and source records attributed to J. Borissova.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2008

The Globular Cluster M15. I. Identification, Discovery, and Period Determination of Variable Stars

We present new $BVI$ CCD photometry for variables in the globular cluster M15. Our photometry was obtained using both the image subtraction package ISIS and DAOPHOT/ALLFRAME. The data were acquired in 2001 on two observing runs on 11 observing nights using the 2-m telescope of the Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory ``Rozhen'' with a Photometrics CCD camera. For 40 previously known variables, we present a period for the first time, and improved periods were obtained for many previously known variables. Fourteen new variables are reported. We present updated Bailey diagrams for the cluster and discuss its Oosterhoff classification. Although many of M15's RRab pulsators fall at an intermediate locus between Oosterhoff types I and II in the Bailey diagram, we argue that M15 is indeed a bona-fide Oosterhoff type II

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arXiv2007

A Search for EHB Pulsators in the Globular Cluster NGC 6752

We describe the status of a project whose main goal is to detect variability along the extreme horizontal branch of the globular cluster NGC 6752. Based on Magellan 6.5m data, preliminary light curves are presented for some candidate variables. By combining our time-series data, we also produce a deep CMD of unprecedented quality for the cluster which reveals a remarkable lack of main sequence binaries, possibly pointing to a low primordial binary fraction.

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arXiv2007

Obscured clusters.I. GLIMPSE30 - Young Milky Way Star Cluster Hosting Wolf-Rayet Stars

Young massive clusters are perfect astrophysical laboratories for study of massive stars. Clusters with Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are of special importance, since this enables us to study a coeval WR population at a uniform metallicity and known age. GLIMPSE30 (G30) is one of them. The cluster is situated near the Galactic plane (l=298.756deg, b=-0.408deg) and we aimed to determine its physical parameters and to investigate its high-mass stellar content and especially WR stars. Our analysis is based on SOFI/NTT JsHKs imaging and low resolution (R~2000) spectroscopy of the brightest cluster members in the K atmospheric window. For the age determination we applied isochrone fits for MS and Pre-MS stars. We derived stellar parameters of the WR stars candidates using a full nonLTE modeling of the observed spectra. Using a variety of techniques we found that G30 is very young cluster, with age t~4Myr. The cluster is located in Carina spiral arm, it is deeply embedded in dust and suffers reddening of Av~10.5+-1.1mag. The distance to the object is d=7.2+-0.9kpc. The mass of the cluster members down to 2.35Msol is ~1600Msol. Cluster's MF for the mass range of 5.6 to 31.6Msol shows a slope of Gamma=-1.01+-0.03. The total mass of the cluster obtained by this MF down to 1Msol is about 3x10^3Msol. The spectral analysis and the models allow us to conclude that in G30 are at least one Ofpe/WN and two WR stars. The WR stars are of WN6-7 hydrogen rich type with progenitor masses more than 60Msol. G30 is a new member of the exquisite family of young Galactic clusters, hosting WR stars. It is a factor of two to three less massive than some of the youngest super-massive star clusters like Arches, Quintuplet and Central cluster and is their smaller analog.

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arXiv2006

Properties of RR Lyrae stars in the inner regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud. II. The extended sample

All galaxies that have been adequately examined so far have shown an extended stellar halo. To search for such a halo in the LMC we have obtained low-resolution spectra for 100 LMC RR Lyrae stars, of which 87 are in the field and 13 in the clusters NGC1835 and NGC2019. We measured radial velocities for 87 LMC RR Lyrae stars, and metallicities for 78 RR Lyrae stars, nearly tripling the previous sample. These targets are located in 10 fields covering a wide range of distances, out to 2.5 degrees from the center of the LMC. Our main result is that the mean velocity dispersion for the LMC RR Lyrae stars is 50+-2km/s. This quantity does not appear to vary with distance from the LMC center. The metallicity shows a Gaussian distribution, with mean [Fe/H]=-1.53+-0.02dex, and dispersion 0.20 dex in the Harris metallicity scale, confirming that they represent a very homogeneous metal-poor population. There is no dependence between the kinematics and metallicity of the field RR Lyrae star population. Using good quality low-resolution spectra from FORS1, FORS2 and GEMINI-GMOS we have found that field RR Lyrae stars in the LMC show a large velocity dispersion and that this indicate the presence of old and metal-poor stellar halo. All the evidence so far for the halo, however, is from the spectroscopy of the inner LMC regions, similar to the inner flattened halo in our Galaxy. Further study is necessary to confirm this important result.

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arXiv2006

Discovery of new Milky Way star cluster candidates in the 2MASS point source catalog. V. Follow-up observations of the young stellar cluster candidates RCW87, [BDSB2003]164 and [DBSB2003]172

Massive clusters are more often found in actively star forming galaxies than in quiescent ones, similar to the Milky Way. We have carried out an extensive survey of obscured Milky Way clusters to determine whether our Galaxy is still forming such objects. Near-infrared spectral classification of some probable cluster members was used to derive the distances to the cluster candidates. Isochrone analysis of deep near-infrared color-magnitude diagrams allowed us to obtain age and mass estimates. We report the physical parameters of three cluster candidates: RCW87 is approx. 25 Myr old, located at a distance of D=7.6 Kpc in the general direction of the Galactic center. Adding the mass of the suspected cluster members we obtain an estimated total cluster mass of approx. 10300 solar masses. The mid-infrared photometry indicates that some next-generation star formation is on-going in the associated HII region, probably triggered by supernovae or stellar wind from the older stars in RCW87. The brightest member of [BDSB2003]164 is an O5V type star, based on our spectroscopy. This limits the cluster age to less than a few million years. The estimated total mass is approx. 1760 solar masses and the distance is D=3.2 Kpc. [DBSB2003]172 lacks central concentration and most likely this is not a cluster but an extended star forming region. The high mass of RCW87 -- if confirmed -- puts this object in line with Arches and Quintuplet, among the most young massive clusters in the Galaxy. Further study is necessary to confirm this important result.

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arXiv2006

New Metallicities of RR Lyrae Stars in omega Centauri: Evidence for a Non He-Enhanced Metal-Intermediate Population

We present new spectroscopic metal abundances for 74 RR Lyrae stars in omega Cen obtained with FLAMES. The well-known metallicity spread is visible among the RR Lyrae variables. The metal-intermediate (MInt) RR Lyrae stars ([Fe/H] ~ -1.2) are fainter than the bulk of the dominant metal-poor population ([Fe/H] ~ -1.7), in good agreement with the corresponding zero-age horizontal branch models with cosmological helium abundance Y = 0.246. This result conflicts with the hypothesis that the progenitors of the MInt RR Lyrae stars correspond to the anomalous blue main-sequence stars, which share a similar metallicity but whose properties are currently explained by assuming for them a large helium enhancement. Therefore, in this scenario, the coexistence within the cluster of two different populations with similar metallicities ([Fe/H] ~ -1.2) and different helium abundances has to be considered.

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arXiv2005

Completing the Census of (Bright) Variable Stars in Galactic Globular Clusters

We present a long-term project aimed at completing the census of (bright) variable stars in Galactic globular clusters. While our main aim is to obtain a reliable assessment of the populations of RR Lyrae and type II Cepheid stars in the Galactic globular cluster system, due attention is also being paid to other types of variables, including SX Phoenicis stars, long-period variables, and eclipsing binaries.

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arXiv2005

Discovery of > 200 RR Lyrae Variables in M62: An Oosterhoff I Globular Cluster with a Predominantly Blue HB

We report on the discovery of a large number of RR Lyrae variable stars in the moderately metal-rich Galactic globular cluster M62 (NGC 6266), which places it among the top three most RR Lyrae-rich globular clusters known. Likely members of the cluster in our studied field, from our preliminary number counts, include about 130 fundamental-mode (RRab) pulsators, with = 0.548 d, and about 75 first-overtone (RRc) pulsators, with = 0.300 d. The average periods and the position of the RRab variables with well-defined light curves in the Bailey diagram both suggest that the cluster is of Oosterhoff type I. However, the morphology of the cluster's horizontal branch (HB) is strikingly similar to that of the Oosterhoff type II globular cluster M15 (NGC 7078), with a dominant blue HB component and a very extended blue tail. Since M15 and M62 differ in metallicity by about one dex, we conclude that metallicity, at a fixed HB type, is a key parameter determining the Oosterhoff status of a globular cluster and the position of its variables in the Bailey diagram.

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arXiv2005

Discovery of new Milky Way star cluster candidates in the 2MASS point source catalog III. Follow-up observations of cluster candidates in the Galactic Center region

This paper is part of a project to search the inner Milky Way for hidden massive clusters and to address the question of whether our Galaxy still forms clusters similar to the progenitors of the present-day globular clusters. We report high angular resolution deep near-infrared imaging of 21 cluster candidates selected from the catalogues of Bica et al. (2003) and Dutra et al.(2003) in a region around the Galactic Center. These catalogues were created from visual inspection of the 2MASS images. Seven objects appear to be genuine clusters, and for these objects we present estimates of extinction, distance and in some cases age and mass. Our estimated masses range from 1200 to 5500 solar masses. These clusters are thus significantly smaller than any Galactic globular cluster, and indicate that the formation of massive young clusters such as Arches and Quintuplet is not common in the present-day Milky Way. The remaining 14 objects are either not clusters or cannot be classified based on our data.

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arXiv2005

Discovery of new Milky Way star cluster candidates in the 2MASS Point Source Catalog IV. Follow-up observations of cluster candidates in the Galactic plane

Nearly 500 cluster candidates have been reported by searches based on the new all-sky near infrared surveys. The true nature of the majority of these objects is still unknown. This project aims to estimate the physical parameters of some of the candidates in order to use them as probes of the obscured star formation in the Milky Way. Here we report deep near infrared observations of four objects, discovered by our search based on the 2MASS Point Source Catalog (Ivanov et al. 2002; Borissova et al. 2003). CC04 appears to be a few million year old cluster. We estimate its distance and extinction, and set a limit on the total mass. CC08 contains red supergiants, indicating a slightly older age of about 7-10 Myr. The suspected cluster nature of CC13 was not confirmed. CC14 appears to be an interesting candidate with double-tail-like morphology but our data doesn't allow us to derive a firm conclusion about the nature of this object. We found no supermassive star clusters similar to the Arches or the Quintuplet (Mtot >= 10**4 Msolar) among the dozen confirmed clusters studied so far in this series of papers, indicating that such objects are not common in the Milky Way.

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arXiv2004

Properties of RR Lyrae stars in the Inner Regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present the radial velocities, metallicities and the K-band magnitudes of 74 RR Lyrae stars in the inner regions of the LMC. The intermediate resolution spectra and infrared images were obtained with FORS1 at the ESO VLT and with the SOFI infrared imager at the ESO NTT. The best 43 RR Lyrae with measured velocities yield an observed velocity dispersion of 61+-7 km/s. We obtain a true LMC RR Lyrae velocity dispersion of 53 km/s, which is higher than the velocity dispersion of any other LMC population previously measured. This is the first empirical evidence for a kinematically hot, metal-poor halo in the LMC as discussed in Minniti et al. (2003). Using Layden's (1994) modification of the Delta S method we measured the metallicity for 23 of our stars. The mean value is [Fe/H] =-1.46+-0.09 dex. The absolute magnitudes M_V and M_K of RR Lyrae stars are linear functions of metallicity. In the V band, our data agree with the Olech et al. (2003) relation, in the K band the slope is flatter. The average apparent V luminosity of 70 RR Lyrae stars is = 19.45+-0.04 and the average K luminosity of 37 RR Lyrae stars is =18.20+-0.06. There is no obvious relation between apparent V magnitude and LogP, while the RR Lyrae K band magnitudes show a well defined linear trend with LogP. Using the Bono et al. (2001) and Bono et al. (2003) theoretical Near-Infrared Period-Luminosity-Metallicity relations we calculate the LMC distance modulus 18.48+-0.08.

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arXiv2004

Discovery of a Variable Star Population in NGC 2808

We have applied the image subtraction method to images of the peculiar, bimodal-horizontal branch globular cluster NGC 2808, taken over a total of six nights over a range of five months. As a result, we have found, for the first time, a sizeable population of variable stars in the crowded inner regions of the cluster, thus raising the known RR Lyrae population in the cluster to a total of 18 stars. In addition, an eclipsing binary and two other variables with periods longer than 1 day were also found. Periods, positions and (differential) light curves are provided for all the detected variables. The Oosterhoff classification of NGC 2808, which has recently been associated with a previously unknown dwarf galaxy in Canis Major, is briefly discussed.

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arXiv2003

The catalogue of OB associations in IC 1613

We present a catalogue of OB associations in IC 1613. Using an automatic and objective method (Battinelli's 1991 technique) 60 objects were found. The size distribution reveals a significant peak at about 60 parsecs if a distance modulus of 24.27 mag is assumed. Spatial distributions of the detected associations and H II regions are strongly correlated.

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arXiv2003

Discovery of New Milky Way Star Cluster Candidates in the 2MASS Point Source Catalog II. Physical Properties of the Star Cluster CC01

Three new obscured Milky Way clusters were detected as surface density peaks in the 2MASS point source catalog during our on-going search for hidden globular clusters and massive Arches-like star clusters. One more cluster was discovered serendipitously during a visual inspection of the candidates. The first deep J, H, and Ks imaging of the cluster [IBP2002] CC01 is presented. We estimated a cluster age of ~1-3 Myr, distance modulus of (m-M)0=12.56+-0.08 mag (D=3.5 Kpc), and extinction of AV~7.7 mag. We also derived the initial mass function slope for the cluster: Gamma=-2.23+-0.16. The integration over the initial mass function yielded a total cluster mass M_{total}<=1800+-200Msol. CC01 appears to be a regular, not very massive star cluster, whose formation has probably been induced by the shock front from the nearby HII region Sh2-228.

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arXiv2003

M75, a Globular Cluster with a Trimodal Horizontal Branch. II. BV Photometry of the RR Lyrae Variables

We present new BV CCD photometry, light curves, and ephemerides for 9 previously known, 29 newly detected RR Lyrae variables and one newly detected variable of an unknown type in the globular cluster M75. The photometry used for the detection of the additional variables was obtained with the image subtraction package ISIS. The data were acquired on an observing run in July 1999 and range over 7 observing nights. Estimates of fundamental photometric parameters are presented including intensity- and magnitude-averaged B and V magnitudes, magnitude-averaged colors, pulsation periods, and pulsation amplitudes. The mean period of the RRab variables, = 0.5868 d, and the number fraction of RRc stars, N_c/N_RR = 0.342, are both large for an Oosterhoff type I (OoI) globular cluster, suggesting that M75 may be Oosterhoff-intermediate. Possible conflicts between Oosterhoff-type determination based on the A_V - logP and A_B - logP diagrams are discussed. The physical parameters of the RRc and RRab variables, as obtained from Fourier decomposition of their light curves, do not show any clear deviation from normal OoI behavior.

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arXiv2002

Discovery of New Milky Way Star Clusters Candidates in the 2MASS Point Source Catalog

A systematic search of the 2MASS point source catalog, covering 47% of the sky, was carried out aiming to reveal any hidden globular clusters in our Galaxy. Eight new star clusters were discovered by a search algorithm based on finding peaks in the apparent stellar surface density, and a visual inspection of their vicinities yielded additional two. They all are concentrated toward the Galactic plane and are hidden behind up to Av=20 mag which accounts for their late discovery. The majority of new clusters are associated with H II regions or unidentified IRAS sources suggesting that they are young, probably similar to Arches or open clusters. Only one candidate has morphology similar to a globular cluster and the verification of its nature will require deeper observations with higher angular resolution than the 2MASS data.

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arXiv2002

M75, a Globular Cluster with a Trimodal Horizontal Branch. I. Color-Magnitude Diagram

Deep UBVI photometry for a large field covering the distant globular cluster M75 (NGC 6864) is presented. We confirm a previous suggestion (Catelan et al. 1998a) that M75 possesses a bimodal horizontal branch (HB) bearing striking resemblance to the well-known case of NGC 1851. In addition, we detect a third, smaller grouping of stars on the M75 blue tail, separated from the bulk of the blue HB stars by a gap spanning about 0.5 mag in V. Such a group of stars may correspond to the upper part of a very extended, though thinly populated, blue tail. Thus M75 appears to have a trimodal HB. The presence of the "Grundahl jump" is verified using the broadband U filter. We explore the color-magnitude diagram of M75 with the purpose of deriving the cluster's fundamental parameters, and find a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.03 +/- 0.17 dex and -1.24 +/- 0.21 dex in the Carretta & Gratton (1997) and Zinn & West (1984) scales, respectively. We discuss earlier suggestions that the cluster has an anomalously low ratio of bright red giants to HB stars. A differential age analysis with respect to NGC 1851 suggests that the two clusters are essentially coeval.

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