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P. Montegriffo

Publications and source records attributed to P. Montegriffo.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Variable stars in the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud: the photometric catalogue

The catalogue of the Johnson-Cousins B,V and I light curves obtained for 162 variable stars (135 RR Lyrae, 4 candidate Anomalous Cepheids, 11 Classical Cepheids, 11 eclipsing binaries and 1 delta Scuti star) in two areas close to the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud is presented along with coordinates, finding charts, periods, epochs, amplitudes, and mean quantities (intensity- and magnitude-averaged luminosities) of the variables with full coverage of the light variations. A star by star comparison is made with MACHO and OGLE II photometries based on both variable and constant stars in common, and the transformation relationships to our photometry are provided. The pulsation properties of the RR Lyrae stars in the sample are discussed in detail. Parameters of the Fourier decomposition of the light curves are derived for the fundamental mode RR Lyrae stars with complete and regular curves (29 stars). They are used to estimate metallicities, absolute magnitudes, intrinsic (B-V)o colours, and temperatures of the variable stars, according to Jurcsik and Kovacs (1996), and Kovacs and Walker (2001) method. Quantities derived from the Fourier parameters are compared with the corresponding observed quantities. In particular, the "photometric" metallicities are compared with the spectroscopic metal abundances derived by Gratton et al. (2004) from low resolution spectra obtained with FORS at the Very Large Telescope.

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The Resolved Stellar Populations in NGC 1705

We present HST photometry of the resolved stellar population in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 1705. The galaxy has been observed with both WFPC2 and NICMOS, and successful images have been obtained in the F555W, F814W, F110W and F160W bands. The optical fields cover most of the galaxy, while the infrared field (NIC2) maps only its central regions. The optical photometry provides \~20000 objects down to m_F555W ~ 29 in the PC field of view and ~ 20000 in the three WFCs. In the infrared we have been able to resolve ~ 2400 stars down to m_{F110W}, m_{F160W} ~ 26. A subsample of 1834 stars have been unambiguously measured in all the four bands. The corresponding color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) confirm the existence of an age gradient, showing that NGC 1705 hosts both young (a few Myr old) and very old (up to 15 Gyr old) stars, with the former strongly concentrated toward the galactic center and the latter present everywhere, but much more easily visible in the external regions. The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is clearly visible both in the optical and in the infrared CMDs and allows us to derive the galaxy distance. Taking into account the uncertainties related to both the photometry and the TRGB magnitude -- distance relation, we find that the distance modulus of NGC 1705 is (m-M)_0=28.54 +- 0.26, corresponding to a distance D=5.1 +- 0.6 Mpc.

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Towards the absolute planes: a new calibration of the Bolometric Corrections and Temperature scales for Population II Giants

We present new determinations of bolometric corrections and effective temperature scales as a function of infrared and optical colors, using a large database of photometric observations of about 6500 Population II giants in Galactic Globular Clusters (GGCs), covering a wide range in metallicity (-2.0<[Fe/H]<0.0). New relations for BC_K vs (V-K), (J-K) and BC_V vs (B-V), (V-I), (V-J), and new calibrations for T_eff, using both an empirical relation and model atmospheres, are provided. Moreover, an empirical relation to derive the R parameter of the Infrared Flux Method as a function of the stellar temperature is also presented.

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The Globular Cluster System of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy: The age of Terzan 8

We present deep V,I CCD photometry of the globular cluster Terzan 8, recently found to be a member of the globular cluster system of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We accurately estimate the metallicity of Ter 8 and provide the first direct determination of the color excess toward this cluster. Our robust age estimate confirms that this cluster is indeed coeval with typical galactic globulars of comparable metal content, and thus it is probably significantly older than at least two other Sagittarius clusters, Terzan 7 and Arp 2. The implications of this result on the star formation history of the Sagittarius galaxy are briefly discussed.

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