The Galactic Bulge exploration IV.: RR~Lyrae stars as traces of the Galactic bar -- 3D and 5D analysis, extinction variation

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Auteurs principaux: Prudil, Z., Kunder, A., Silva, L. Beraldo e, Gough-Kelly, S., Rejkuba, M., Anderson, S. R., Debattista, V. P., Gerhard, O., Rich, R. M., Nataf, D. M., Koch-Hansen, A. J., Savino, A., Dékány, I.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Prudil, Z.
Kunder, A.
Silva, L. Beraldo e
Gough-Kelly, S.
Rejkuba, M.
Anderson, S. R.
Debattista, V. P.
Gerhard, O.
Rich, R. M.
Nataf, D. M.
Koch-Hansen, A. J.
Savino, A.
Dékány, I.
author_facet Prudil, Z.
Kunder, A.
Silva, L. Beraldo e
Gough-Kelly, S.
Rejkuba, M.
Anderson, S. R.
Debattista, V. P.
Gerhard, O.
Rich, R. M.
Nataf, D. M.
Koch-Hansen, A. J.
Savino, A.
Dékány, I.
contents We created new reddening maps and derived new extinction laws from visual to near-infrared passbands using improved RR~Lyrae period-absolute magnitude-metallicity relations, thus enabling distance estimates for individual bulge RR~Lyrae variables. The extinction law is most uniform in RIK and RJK and the distances to individual RR~Lyrae based on these colors are determined with an accuracy six and four percent, respectively. Using only the near-infrared passbands for distance estimation we inferred the distance to the Galactic center equal to djk = 8.2 +- 0.001(stat) +- 0.53(sys)pc after geometrical correction. We show that variations in the extinction law toward the Galactic bulge can mimic a barred spatial distribution in the bulge RR~Lyrae star population in visual passbands. This arises from a gradient in extinction differences along Galactic longitudes and latitudes, which can create the perception of the Galactic bar, particularly when using visual passband-based distances. A barred angle in the RR~Lyrae spatial distribution disappears when near-infrared passband-based distances are used, as well as when reddening law variations are incorporated in visual passband-based distances. The prominence of the bar, as traced by RR~Lyrae stars, depends on their metallicity, with metal-poor RR~Lyrae stars ([Fe/H]<-1.0dex) showing little to no tilt with respect to the bar. Metal-rich ([Fe/H]>-1.0dex) RR~Lyrae stars do show a barred/bulge signature in spatial properties derived using near-infrared distances, with an angle ι = 18 +- 5deg, consistent with previous bar measurements from the literature. The 5D kinematic analysis, primarily based on transverse velocities, indicates a rotational lag in RR~Lyrae stars compared to red clump giants. Despite variations in the extinction law, our kinematic conclusions are robust across different distance estimation methods.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_03497
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Galactic Bulge exploration IV.: RR~Lyrae stars as traces of the Galactic bar -- 3D and 5D analysis, extinction variation
Prudil, Z.
Kunder, A.
Silva, L. Beraldo e
Gough-Kelly, S.
Rejkuba, M.
Anderson, S. R.
Debattista, V. P.
Gerhard, O.
Rich, R. M.
Nataf, D. M.
Koch-Hansen, A. J.
Savino, A.
Dékány, I.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We created new reddening maps and derived new extinction laws from visual to near-infrared passbands using improved RR~Lyrae period-absolute magnitude-metallicity relations, thus enabling distance estimates for individual bulge RR~Lyrae variables. The extinction law is most uniform in RIK and RJK and the distances to individual RR~Lyrae based on these colors are determined with an accuracy six and four percent, respectively. Using only the near-infrared passbands for distance estimation we inferred the distance to the Galactic center equal to djk = 8.2 +- 0.001(stat) +- 0.53(sys)pc after geometrical correction. We show that variations in the extinction law toward the Galactic bulge can mimic a barred spatial distribution in the bulge RR~Lyrae star population in visual passbands. This arises from a gradient in extinction differences along Galactic longitudes and latitudes, which can create the perception of the Galactic bar, particularly when using visual passband-based distances. A barred angle in the RR~Lyrae spatial distribution disappears when near-infrared passband-based distances are used, as well as when reddening law variations are incorporated in visual passband-based distances. The prominence of the bar, as traced by RR~Lyrae stars, depends on their metallicity, with metal-poor RR~Lyrae stars ([Fe/H]<-1.0dex) showing little to no tilt with respect to the bar. Metal-rich ([Fe/H]>-1.0dex) RR~Lyrae stars do show a barred/bulge signature in spatial properties derived using near-infrared distances, with an angle ι = 18 +- 5deg, consistent with previous bar measurements from the literature. The 5D kinematic analysis, primarily based on transverse velocities, indicates a rotational lag in RR~Lyrae stars compared to red clump giants. Despite variations in the extinction law, our kinematic conclusions are robust across different distance estimation methods.
title The Galactic Bulge exploration IV.: RR~Lyrae stars as traces of the Galactic bar -- 3D and 5D analysis, extinction variation
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.03497