arXiv subjects

Vasily Belokurov

Publications and source records attributed to Vasily Belokurov.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

An empirical model of the Gaia DR3 selection function

Interpreting and modelling astronomical catalogues requires an understanding of the catalogues' completeness or selection function: objects of what properties had a chance to end up in the catalogue. Here we set out to empirically quantify the completeness of the overall Gaia DR3 catalogue. This task is not straightforward because Gaia is the all-sky optical survey with the highest angular resolution to date and no consistent ``ground truth'' exists to allow direct comparisons. However, well-characterised deeper imaging enables an empirical assessment of Gaia's $G$-band completeness across parts of the sky. On this basis, we devised a simple analytical completeness model of Gaia as a function of the observed $G$ magnitude and position over the sky, which accounts for both the effects of crowding and the complex Gaia scanning law. Our model only depends on a single quantity: the median magnitude $M_{10}$ in a patch of the sky of catalogued sources with $\texttt{astrometric_matched_transits}$ $\leq 10$. $M_{10}$ reflects elementary completeness decisions in the Gaia pipeline and is computable from the Gaia DR3 catalogue itself and therefore applicable across the whole sky. We calibrate our model using the Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey (DECaPS) and test its predictions against Hubble Space Telescope observations of globular clusters. We find that our model predicts Gaia's completeness values to a few per cent across the sky. We make the model available as a part of the $\texttt{gaiasf}$ Python package built and maintained by the GaiaUnlimited project: $\texttt{https://github.com/gaia-unlimited/gaiaunlimited}$

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arXiv2022

The impact of a massive Sagittarius dSph on GD-1-like streams

We investigate the effects of a massive ($\gtrsim4\times10^{10}M_\odot$) Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr) on stellar streams using test particle simulations in a realistic Milky Way potential. We find that Sgr can easily disrupt streams formed more than $\sim3$ Gyr ago, while stars stripped more recently are generally unaffected. In certain realizations, Sgr is able to produce asymmetry between the leading and trailing tails of Pal 5, qualitatively similar to observations. Using data from the Gaia space telescope and elsewhere, we fit models to the GD-1 stream in the presence of a Sgr with various initial masses. While the best-fitting models do show perturbations resulting from interactions with Sgr, we find that the level of disruption is not significantly greater than in the observed stream. To investigate the general effects of Sgr on a population of streams, we generate 1000 mock streams on GD-1-like orbits with randomized orientations. Some streams show clear evidence of disruption, becoming folded on the sky or developing asymmetry betweeen their two tails. However, many survive unaffected and the peak surface brightness of stars is decreased by no more than $\sim0.3$ mag/arcsec$^2$ on average. We conclude that Sgr having an initial mass of $\gtrsim4\times10^{10}M_\odot$ is compatible with the survival and detection of streams formed more than 3 Gyr ago.

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arXiv2022

Energy wrinkles and phase-space folds of the last major merger

Relying on the dramatic increase in the number of stars with full 6D phase-space information provided by the Gaia Data Release 3, we discover unambiguous signatures of phase-mixing in the stellar halo around the Sun. We show that for the stars likely belonging to the last massive merger, the (v_r,r) distribution contains a series of long and thin chevron-like overdensities. These phase-space sub-structures are predicted to emerge following the dissolution of a satellite, when its tidal debris is given time to wind up, thin out and fold. Additionally, the observed energy and angular momentum (E, L_z) distribution appears more prograde at high energies, possibly revealing the original orbital angular momentum of the in-falling galaxy. The energy distribution of the debris is strongly asymmetric with a peak at low E -- which, we surmise, may be evidence of the dwarf's rapid sinking -- and riddled with wrinkles and bumps. If these small-scale energy inhomogeneities have been seeded during or immediately after the interaction with the Milky Way, and are not due to the spatial restriction of our study, then making use of the (v_r,r) chevrons to constrain the time of the merger becomes cumbersome. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that similar phase-space and (E,L_z) sub-structures are present in numerical simulations of galaxy interactions, both in bespoke N-body runs and in cosmological hydrodynamical zoom-in suites. The remnant traces of the progenitor's disruption and the signatures of the on-going phase-mixing discovered here will not only help to constrain the properties of our Galaxy's most important interaction, but also can be used as a novel tool to map out the Milky Way's current gravitational potential and its perturbations.

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arXiv2022

Merger-induced galaxy transformations in the ARTEMIS simulations

Using the ARTEMIS set of 45 high-resolution cosmological simulations, we investigate a range of merger-induced dynamical transformations of Milky Way-like galaxies. We first identify populations of accreted stars on highly radial orbits, similar to the 'Gaia Sausage' in the Milky Way. We show that $\approx1/3$ of the ARTEMIS galaxies contain a similar feature, and confirm that they usually comprise stellar debris from the most massive accreted satellite. Selecting 15 galaxies with discs at the present-day, we study their changes around the times of the GS-like mergers. Dark matter haloes of many of these exhibit global changes in shape and orientation, with almost half becoming significantly more spherical when the mergers occur. Focusing on the galaxies themselves, we find that 4/15 have stellar discs which experience large changes in the orientation of their angular momentum (AM) axes, at rates of up to $\sim60$ degrees Gyr$^{-1}$. By calculating the orbital angular momentum axes of the satellites before they are accreted, we show that there is a tendency for the disc's AM to become more aligned with this axis after the merger. We also investigate the origin of in situ retrograde stars, analogous to the 'Splash' in the Milky Way. Tracing them back to earlier snapshots, we demonstrate that they were often disrupted onto their extreme orbits by multiple early mergers. We also find that the total mass of these stars outside the central regions positively correlates with the total accreted stellar mass.

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arXiv2022

Information content of BP/RP spectra in Gaia DR3

Gaia Data Release 3 has provided the astronomical community with the largest stellar spectroscopic survey to date ($>$ 220 million sources). The low resolution (R$\sim$50) blue photometer (BP) and red photometer (RP) spectra will allow for the estimation of stellar atmospheric parameters such as effective temperature, surface gravity and metallicity. We create mock Gaia BP/RP spectra and use Fisher information matrices to probe the resolution limit of stellar parameter measurements using BP/RP spectra. The best-case scenario uncertainties that this analysis provides are then used to produce a mock-observed stellar population in order to evaluate the false positive rate (FPR) of identifying extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars. We conclude that the community will be able to confidently identify metal-poor stars at magnitudes brighter than $G = 16$ using BP/RP spectra. At fainter magnitudes true detections will start to be overwhelmed by false positives. When adopting the commonly-used $G < 14$ limit for metal-poor star searches, we find a FPR for the low-metallicity regimes [Fe/H] $<$ -2, -2.5 and -3 of just 14$\%$, 33$\%$ and 56$\%$ respectively, offering the potential for significant improvements on previous targeting campaigns. Additionally, we explore the chemical sensitivity obtainable directly from BP/RP spectra for Carbon and $α$-elements. We find an absolute Carbon abundance uncertainty of $σ_{A(C)} < 1$ dex for Carbon-enriched metal-poor (CEMP) stars, indicating the potential to identify a CEMP stellar population for follow-up confirmation with higher resolution spectroscopy. Finally, we find that large uncertainties in $α$-element abundance measurements using BP/RP spectra means that efficiently obtaining these abundances will be challenging.

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arXiv2022

Catalogues of Active Galactic Nuclei From Gaia and unWISE Data

We present two catalogues of active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates selected from the latest data of two all-sky surveys -- Data Release 2 (DR2) of the \emph{Gaia} mission and the unWISE catalogue of the \emph{Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer} (\emph{WISE}). We train a random forest classifier to predict the probability of each source in the \emph{Gaia}-unWISE joint sample being an AGN, $P_{\rm RF}$, based on \emph{Gaia} astrometric and photometric measurements and unWISE photometry. The two catalogues, which we designate C75 and R85, are constructed by applying different $P_{\rm RF}$ threshold cuts to achieve an overall completeness of 75\% ($\approx$90\% at \emph{Gaia} $G\leq20$ mag) and reliability of 85\% respectively. The C75 (R85) catalogue contains 2,734,464 (2,182,193) AGN candidates across the effective 36,000 deg$^2$ sky, of which $\approx$0.91 (0.52) million are new discoveries. Photometric redshifts of the AGN candidates are derived by a random forest regressor using \emph{Gaia} and \emph{WISE} magnitudes and colours. The estimated overall photometric redshift accuracy is 0.11. Cross-matching the AGN candidates with a sample of known bright cluster galaxies, we identify a high-probability strongly-lensed AGN candidate system, SDSS\,J1326$+$4806, with a large image separation of 21\farcs06. All the AGN candidates in our catalogues will have $\sim$5-year long light curves from \emph{Gaia} by the end of the mission, and thus will be a great resource for AGN variability studies. Our AGN catalogues will also be helpful in AGN target selections for future spectroscopic surveys, especially ones in the southern hemisphere. The C75 catalogue can be downloaded at https://zenodo.org/record/6837642#.YtEgjy8RrzI.

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arXiv2022

On the Hunt for the Origins of the Orphan--Chenab Stream: Detailed Element Abundances with APOGEE and Gaia

Stellar streams in the Galactic halo are useful probes of the assembly of galaxies like the Milky Way. Many tidal stellar streams that have been found in recent years are accompanied by a known progenitor globular cluster or dwarf galaxy. However, the Orphan--Chenab (OC) stream is one case where a relatively narrow stream of stars has been found without a known progenitor. In an effort to find the parent of the OC stream, we use astrometry from the early third data release of ESA's Gaia mission (Gaia EDR3) and radial velocity information from the SDSS-IV APOGEE survey to find up to 13 stars that are likely members of the OC stream. We use the APOGEE survey to study the chemical nature (for up to 13 stars) of the OC stream in the $α$ (O, Mg, Ca, Si, Ti, S), odd-Z (Al, K, V), Fe-peak (Fe, Ni, Mn, Co, Cr) and neutron capture (Ce) elemental groups. We find that the stars that make up the OC stream are not consistent with a mono-metallic population and have a median metallicity of --1.92~dex with a dispersion of 0.28 dex. Our results also indicate that the $α$-elements are depleted compared to the known Milky Way populations and that its [Mg/Al] abundance ratio is not consistent with second generation stars from globular clusters. The detailed chemical pattern of these stars indicates that the OC stream progenitor is very likely to be a dwarf spheroidal galaxy with a mass of ~10$^6$ M$_\odot$.

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arXiv2022

Astrometric identification of nearby binary stars II: Astrometric binaries in the Gaia Catalogue of Nearby Stars

We examine the capacity to identify binary systems from astrometric deviations alone. We apply our analysis to the Gaia eDR3 and DR2 data, specifically the Gaia Catalogue of Nearby Stars. We show we must renormalize (R)UWE over the local volume to avoid biasing local observations, giving a Local Unit Weight Error (LUWE). We use the simple criterion of LUWE>2, along with a handful of quality cuts to remove likely contaminants, to identify unresolved binary candidates. We identify 22,699 binary candidates within 100 pc of the Sun (just under 10% of sources in this volume). We find an astrometric binary candidate fraction of around 20% for giant stars, 10% on the Main Sequence and lower than 1% for White Dwarfs. We also look for Variability Induced Movers, by computing the correlation between photometric variability and astrometric noise -- and show that VIMs may dominate the binary population of sub-Solar mass MS stars. We discuss the possibility and limitations of identifying non-luminous massive companions from astrometry alone, but find that our method is insensitive to these. Finally, we compare the astrometric deviations of MS binaries to the simulated sample from paper I, which show excellent agreement, and compute the astrometric candidate binary fraction as a function of absolute magnitude.

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arXiv2022

Astrometric Identification of Nearby Binary Stars I: Predicted Astrometric Signals

We examine the capacity to identify binary systems from astrometric errors and deviations alone. Until the release of the fourth Gaia data release we lack the full astrometric time series that the satellite records, but as we show can still infer the presence of binaries from the best fit models, and their error, already available. We generate a broad catalog of simulated binary systems within 100 pc, and examine synthetic observations matching the Gaia survey's scanning law and astrometric data processing routine. We show how the Unit Weight Error (UWE) and Proper Motion Anomaly (PMA) vary as a function of period, and the properties of the binary. Both UWE and PMA peak for systems with a binary period close to the time baseline of the survey. Thus UWE can be expected to increase or remain roughly constant as we observe the same system over a longer baseline, and we suggest $UWE_{eDR3}>1.25$ and $ΔUWE/UWE_{eDR3}>-0.25$ as criteria to select astrometric binaries. For stellar binaries we find detectable significant astrometric deviations for 80-90\% of our simulated systems in a period range from months to decades. We confirm that for systems with periods less than the survey's baseline the observed $UWE$ scales $\propto \ \varpi$ (parallax), $a$ (semi-major axis) and $Δ=\frac{|q-l|}{(1+q)(1+l)}$ where $q$ and $l$ are the mass and light ratio respectively, with a modest dependence on viewing angle. For longer periods the signal is suppressed by a factor of roughly $\propto P^{-2}$ (period). PMA is largest in orbits with slightly longer periods but obeys the same approximate scaling relationships.

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arXiv2022

From dawn till disk: Milky Way's turbulent youth revealed by the APOGEE+Gaia data

We use accurate estimates of aluminium abundance provided as part of the APOGEE Data Release 17 and Gaia Early Data Release 3 astrometry to select a highly pure sample of stars with metallicity $-1.5\lesssim {\rm [Fe/H]}\lesssim 0.5$ born in-situ in the Milky Way proper. We show that the low-metallicity ([Fe/H]$\lesssim -1.3$) in-situ component that we dub Aurora is kinematically hot with an approximately isotropic velocity ellipsoid and a modest net rotation. Aurora stars exhibit large scatter in metallicity and in a number of element abundance ratios. The median tangential velocity of the in-situ stars increases sharply with increasing metallicity between [Fe/H]$=-1.3$ and $-0.9$, the transition that we call the spin-up. The observed and theoretically expected age-metallicity correlations imply that this increase reflects a rapid formation of the Milky Way disk over $\approx 1-2$ Gyrs. The transformation of the stellar kinematics as a function of [Fe/H] is accompanied by a qualitative change in chemical abundances: the scatter drops sharply once the Galaxy builds up a disk during later epochs corresponding to [Fe/H]$>-0.9$. Results of galaxy formation models presented in this and other recent studies strongly indicate that the trends observed in the Milky Way reflect generic processes during the early evolution of progenitors of MW-sized galaxies: a period of chaotic pre-disk evolution, when gas is accreted along cold narrow filaments and when stars are born in irregular configurations, and subsequent rapid disk formation. The latter signals formation of a stable hot gaseous halo around the MW progenitor, which changes the mode of gas accretion and allows development of coherently rotating disk.

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arXiv2022

A gap in the double white dwarf separation distribution caused by the common-envelope evolution: astrometric evidence from Gaia

The trajectory of the center of light of an unresolved binary is different from that of its center of mass. Binary-induced stellar centroid wobbling can therefore be detected as an excess in the goodness-of-fit of the single-star astrometric model. We use reduced $χ^2$ of the astrometric fit in the {\it Gaia} Early Data Release 3 to detect the likely unresolved double white dwarfs (DWDs). Using parallax-based distances we convert the excess of reduced $χ^2$ into the amplitude of the centroid wobble $δa$, which is proportional to the binary separation $a$. The measured $δa$ distribution drops towards larger wobble amplitudes and shows a break around $δa \approx 0.2$ where it steepens. The integral of the distribution yields DWD fraction of $6.5 \pm 3.7$ per cent in the range $0.01 < a (\text{au}) < 2$. Using synthetic models of the Galactic DWDs we demonstrate that the break in the $δa$ distribution corresponds to one side of a deep gap in the DWD separation distribution at around $a\approx 1$ au. Model DWDs with separations less than several au shrink dramatically due to (al least one) common envelope phase, reshaping the original separation distribution, clearing a gap and creating a pile-up of systems with $a\approx 0.01$ au and $δa < 0.01$. Our models reproduce the overall shape of the observed $δa$ distribution and its normalisation, however the predicted drop in the numbers of DWDs beyond the break is steeper than in the data.

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arXiv2022

Radialization of satellite orbits in galaxy mergers

We consider the orbital evolution of satellites in galaxy mergers, focusing on the evolution of eccentricity. Using a large suite of N-body simulations, we study the phenomenon of satellite orbital radialization -- a profound increase in the eccentricity of its orbit as it decays under dynamical friction. While radialization is detected in a variety of different setups, it is most efficient in the cases of high satellite mass, not very steep host density profiles, and high initial eccentricity. To understand the origin of this phenomenon, we run additional simulations with various physical factors selectively turned off: satellite mass loss, reflex motion and distortion of the host, etc. We find that all these factors are important for radialization, since it does not occur for point-mass satellites or when the host potential is replaced with an unperturbed initial profile. The analysis of forces and torques acting on both galaxies confirms the major role of self-gravity of both host and satellite in the reduction of orbital angular momentum. The classical Chandrasekhar dynamical friction formula, which accounts only for the forces between the host and the satellite, but not for internal distortions of both galaxies, does not match the evolution of eccentricity observed in N-body simulations.

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arXiv2022

Quenching of satellite galaxies of Milky Way analogues: reconciling theory and observations

The vast majority of low-mass satellite galaxies around the Milky Way and M31 appear virtually devoid of cool gas and show no signs of recent or ongoing star formation. Cosmological simulations demonstrate that such quenching is expected and is due to the harsh environmental conditions that satellites face when joining the Local Group (LG). However, recent observations of Milky Way analogues in the SAGA survey present a very different picture, showing the majority of observed satellites to be actively forming stars, calling into question the realism of current simulations and the typicality of the LG. Here we use the ARTEMIS suite of high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to carry out a careful comparison with observations of dwarf satellites in the LG, SAGA, and the Local Volume (LV) survey. We show that differences between SAGA and the LG and LV surveys, as well as between SAGA and the ARTEMIS simulations, can be strongly reduced by considering differences in the host mass distributions and (more importantly) observational selection effects, specifically that low-mass satellites which have only recently been accreted are more likely to be star-forming, have a higher optical surface brightness, and are therefore more likely to be included in the SAGA survey. This picture is confirmed using data from the deeper LV survey, which shows pronounced quenching at low masses, in accordance with the predictions of LCDM-based simulations.

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arXiv2021

Variable Stars in the giant satellite galaxy Antlia 2

We report 350 pulsating variable stars found in four DECam fields ($\sim 12$ sq. deg.) covering the Antlia 2 satellite galaxy. The sample of variables includes 318 RR Lyrae stars and eight anomalous Cepheids in the galaxy. Reclassification of several objects designated previously to be RR Lyrae as Anomalous Cepheids gets rid of the satellite's stars intervening along the line of sight. This in turn removes the need for prolific tidal disruption of the dwarf, in agreement with the recently updated proper motion and peri-centre measurements based on Gaia EDR3. There are also several bright foreground RR Lyrae stars in the field, and two distant background variables located $\sim 45$ kpc behind Antlia 2. We found RR Lyrae stars over the full search area, suggesting that the galaxy is very large and likely extends beyond our observed area. The mean period of the RRab in Antlia 2 is 0.599 days, while the RRc have a mean period of 0.368 days, indicating the galaxy is an Oosterhoff-intermediate system. The distance to Antlia 2 based on the RR Lyrae stars is $124.1$ kpc ($μ_0=20.47$) with a dispersion of $5.4$ kpc. We measured a clear distance gradient along the semi-major axis of the galaxy, with the South-East side of Antlia 2 being $\sim13$ kpc farther away from the North-West side. This elongation along the line of sight is likely due to the ongoing tidal disruption of Ant 2.

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arXiv2021

Eclipsing White Dwarf Binaries in Gaia and the Zwicky Transient Facility

Gaia provided the largest-ever catalogue of white dwarf stars. We use this catalogue, along with the third public data release of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), to identify new eclipsing white dwarf binaries. Our method exploits light curve statistics and the Box Least Squares algorithm to detect periodic light curve variability. The search revealed 18 new binaries, of which 17 are eclipsing. We use the position in the Gaia H-R diagram to classify these binaries and find that the majority of these white dwarfs have main sequence companions. We identify one system as a candidate eclipsing white dwarf--brown dwarf binary and a further two as extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarf binaries. We also provide identification spectroscopy for 17 of our 18 binaries. Running our search method on mock light curves with real ZTF sampling, we estimate our efficiency of detecting objects with light curves similar to the ones of the newly discovered binaries. Many more binaries are to be found in the ZTF footprint as the data releases grow, so our survey is ongoing.

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arXiv2021

The Photo-Astrometric Vertical Tracer Density of the Milky Way I: The Method

We introduce a method to infer the vertical distribution of stars in the Milky Way using a Poisson likelihood function, with a view to applying our method to the Gaia catalogue. We show how to account for the sample selection function and for parallax measurement uncertainties. Our method is validated against a simulated sample drawn from a model with two exponential discs and a power-law halo profile. A mock Gaia sample is generated using the Gaia astrometry selection function, whilst realistic parallax uncertainties are drawn from the Gaia Astrometric Spread Function. The model is fit to the mock in order to rediscover the input parameters used to generate the sample. We recover posterior distributions which accurately fit the input parameters to within statistical uncertainties, demonstrating the efficacy of our method. Using the GUMS synthetic Milky Way catalogue we find that our halo parameter fits can be heavily biased by our overly simplistic model, however, the fits to the thin and thick discs are not significantly impacted. We apply this method to Gaia Early Data Release 3 in a companion paper where we also quantify the systematic uncertainties introduced by oversimplifications in our model.

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arXiv2021

The Photo-Astrometric Vertical Tracer Density of the Milky Way II: Results from Gaia

We use Gaia photometry and astrometry to estimate the vertical spatial structure of the Milky Way at the Solar radius, formally accounting for sample incompleteness (the selection function) and parallax measurement uncertainty. Our results show impressive precision demonstrating the power of the Gaia data. However, systematic errors dominate the parameter value uncertainties. We thoroughly test and quantify the impacts of all systematic uncertainties. The vertical tracer density is modelled as a sum of two exponential profiles for the thin and thick discs, together with a spherically symmetric power-law for the stellar halo. We constrain the thin disc scale height as ${h_\mathrm{Tn}=260 \pm 3\, (\mathrm{stat}) \pm 26\,\mathrm{pc}\, (\mathrm{sys})}$ and thick disc ${h_\mathrm{Tk}=693 \pm 7 \,(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 121\,\mathrm{pc}\, (\mathrm{sys})}$. For the halo, we obtain a power law profile with $n_\mathrm{H}=3.543\pm0.023 \,(\mathrm{stat}) \pm0.259\, (\mathrm{sys})$. We infer a local stellar mass density for non-compact object stars of ${ρ_\mathrm{local}^* = 3.66\pm0.03\,(\mathrm{stat})\pm0.52 \times10^{-2}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot/\mathrm{pc}^3\,(\mathrm{sys})}$ and surface density of ${Σ_\mathrm{local}^* = 23.17\pm0.08\,(\mathrm{stat})\pm2.43\,\mathrm{M}_\odot/\mathrm{pc}^2\,(\mathrm{sys})}$. We find asymmetries above and below the disc with longer disc scale heights in the north but a flatter halo in the south at the $\lesssim 10$ per cent level.

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arXiv2021

Variable star classification across the Galactic bulge and disc with the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey

We present VIVACE, the VIrac VAriable Classification Ensemble, a catalogue of variable stars extracted from an automated classification pipeline for the Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) infrared survey of the Galactic bar/bulge and southern disc. Our procedure utilises a two-stage hierarchical classifier to first isolate likely variable sources using simple variability summary statistics and training sets of non-variable sources from the Gaia early third data release, and then classify candidate variables using more detailed light curve statistics and training labels primarily from OGLE and VSX. The methodology is applied to point-spread-function photometry for $\sim490$ million light curves from the VIRAC v2 astrometric and photometric catalogue resulting in a catalogue of $\sim1.4$ million likely variable stars, of which $\sim39,000$ are high-confidence (classification probability $>0.9$) RR Lyrae ab stars, $\sim8000$ RR Lyrae c/d stars, $\sim187,000$ detached/semi-detached eclipsing binaries, $\sim18,000$ contact eclipsing binaries, $\sim1400$ classical Cepheid variables and $\sim2200$ Type II Cepheid variables. Comparison with OGLE-4 suggests a completeness of around $90\,\%$ for RRab and $\lesssim60\%$ for RRc/d, and a misclassification rate for known RR Lyrae stars of around $1\%$ for the high confidence sample. We close with two science demonstrations of our new VIVACE catalogue: first, a brief investigation of the spatial and kinematic properties of the RR Lyrae stars within the disc/bulge, demonstrating the spatial elongation of bar-bulge RR Lyrae stars is in the same sense as the more metal-rich red giant population whilst having a slower rotation rate of $\sim40\,\mathrm{km\,s}^{-1}\mathrm{kpc}^{-1}$; and secondly, an investigation of the Gaia EDR3 parallax zeropoint using contact eclipsing binaries across the Galactic disc plane and bulge.

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