Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables

Anupam Bhardwaj; Marcella Marconi; Marina Rejkuba; Richard de Grijs; Harinder P. Singh; Vittorio F. Braga; Shashi Kanbur; Chow-Choong Ngeow; Vincenzo Ripepi; Giuseppe Bono; Giulia De Somma; Massimo Dall’Ora

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f

Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables

Anupam Bhardwaj, Marcella Marconi, Marina Rejkuba^*, Richard de Grijs, Harinder P. Singh, Vittorio F. Braga, Shashi Kanbur, Chow-Choong Ngeow, Vincenzo Ripepi, Giuseppe Bono, Giulia De Somma, Massimo Dall’Ora

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

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Abstract

RR Lyrae variables are excellent Population II distance indicators thanks to their well-defined period-luminosity relations (PLRs) at infrared wavelengths. We present results of near-infrared (NIR) monitoring of Galactic globular clusters to empirically quantify the metallicity dependence of NIR PLRs for RR Lyrae variables. Our sample includes homogeneous, accurate, and precise photometric data for 964 RR Lyrae variables in 11 globular clusters covering a large metallicity range (Δ[Fe/H] ∼ 2 dex). We derive JHK_s-band period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) and period-Wesenheit-metallicity (PWZ) relations anchored using 346 Milky Way field RR Lyrae stars with Gaia parallaxes, and simultaneously solved for independent distances to globular clusters. We find a significant metallicity dependence of ∼0.2 mag dex⁻¹ in the JHK_s-band PLZ and PWZ relations for RR Lyrae stars independent of the adopted metallicity scale. The metallicity coefficients and the zero-points of the empirical PLZ and PWZ relations are in excellent agreement with the predictions from the horizontal branch evolution and pulsation models. Furthermore, RR Lyrae-based distances to our sample of globular clusters are also statistically consistent with other independent measurements in the literature. Our recommended empirical JHK_s-band PLZ relations for RR Lyrae stars with periods of fundamental mode pulsation (P_f) are:formula presented

Original language	English
Article number	L51
Pages (from-to)	1-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	944
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2023

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Copyright © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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Bhardwaj, A., Marconi, M., Rejkuba, M., de Grijs, R., Singh, H. P., Braga, V. F., Kanbur, S., Ngeow, C.-C., Ripepi, V., Bono, G., De Somma, G., & Dall’Ora, M. (2023). Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 944(2), 1-7. Article L51. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f

@article{19ed0bd80bda41a2a444ca1b52a88816,

title = "Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables",

abstract = "RR Lyrae variables are excellent Population II distance indicators thanks to their well-defined period-luminosity relations (PLRs) at infrared wavelengths. We present results of near-infrared (NIR) monitoring of Galactic globular clusters to empirically quantify the metallicity dependence of NIR PLRs for RR Lyrae variables. Our sample includes homogeneous, accurate, and precise photometric data for 964 RR Lyrae variables in 11 globular clusters covering a large metallicity range (Δ[Fe/H] ∼ 2 dex). We derive JHKs -band period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) and period-Wesenheit-metallicity (PWZ) relations anchored using 346 Milky Way field RR Lyrae stars with Gaia parallaxes, and simultaneously solved for independent distances to globular clusters. We find a significant metallicity dependence of ∼0.2 mag dex−1 in the JHKs -band PLZ and PWZ relations for RR Lyrae stars independent of the adopted metallicity scale. The metallicity coefficients and the zero-points of the empirical PLZ and PWZ relations are in excellent agreement with the predictions from the horizontal branch evolution and pulsation models. Furthermore, RR Lyrae-based distances to our sample of globular clusters are also statistically consistent with other independent measurements in the literature. Our recommended empirical JHKs -band PLZ relations for RR Lyrae stars with periods of fundamental mode pulsation (Pf) are:formula presented",

author = "Anupam Bhardwaj and Marcella Marconi and Marina Rejkuba and \{de Grijs\}, Richard and Singh, \{Harinder P.\} and Braga, \{Vittorio F.\} and Shashi Kanbur and Chow-Choong Ngeow and Vincenzo Ripepi and Giuseppe Bono and \{De Somma\}, Giulia and Massimo Dall{\textquoteright}Ora",

note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

year = "2023",

month = feb,

day = "1",

doi = "10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f",

language = "English",

volume = "944",

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Bhardwaj, A, Marconi, M, Rejkuba, M, de Grijs, R, Singh, HP, Braga, VF, Kanbur, S, Ngeow, C-C, Ripepi, V, Bono, G, De Somma, G & Dall’Ora, M 2023, 'Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables', The Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 944, no. 2, L51, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f

TY - JOUR

T1 - Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables

AU - Bhardwaj, Anupam

AU - Marconi, Marcella

AU - Rejkuba, Marina

AU - de Grijs, Richard

AU - Singh, Harinder P.

AU - Braga, Vittorio F.

AU - Kanbur, Shashi

AU - Ngeow, Chow-Choong

AU - Ripepi, Vincenzo

AU - Bono, Giuseppe

AU - De Somma, Giulia

AU - Dall’Ora, Massimo

N1 - Copyright © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2023/2/1

Y1 - 2023/2/1

N2 - RR Lyrae variables are excellent Population II distance indicators thanks to their well-defined period-luminosity relations (PLRs) at infrared wavelengths. We present results of near-infrared (NIR) monitoring of Galactic globular clusters to empirically quantify the metallicity dependence of NIR PLRs for RR Lyrae variables. Our sample includes homogeneous, accurate, and precise photometric data for 964 RR Lyrae variables in 11 globular clusters covering a large metallicity range (Δ[Fe/H] ∼ 2 dex). We derive JHKs -band period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) and period-Wesenheit-metallicity (PWZ) relations anchored using 346 Milky Way field RR Lyrae stars with Gaia parallaxes, and simultaneously solved for independent distances to globular clusters. We find a significant metallicity dependence of ∼0.2 mag dex−1 in the JHKs -band PLZ and PWZ relations for RR Lyrae stars independent of the adopted metallicity scale. The metallicity coefficients and the zero-points of the empirical PLZ and PWZ relations are in excellent agreement with the predictions from the horizontal branch evolution and pulsation models. Furthermore, RR Lyrae-based distances to our sample of globular clusters are also statistically consistent with other independent measurements in the literature. Our recommended empirical JHKs -band PLZ relations for RR Lyrae stars with periods of fundamental mode pulsation (Pf) are:formula presented

AB - RR Lyrae variables are excellent Population II distance indicators thanks to their well-defined period-luminosity relations (PLRs) at infrared wavelengths. We present results of near-infrared (NIR) monitoring of Galactic globular clusters to empirically quantify the metallicity dependence of NIR PLRs for RR Lyrae variables. Our sample includes homogeneous, accurate, and precise photometric data for 964 RR Lyrae variables in 11 globular clusters covering a large metallicity range (Δ[Fe/H] ∼ 2 dex). We derive JHKs -band period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) and period-Wesenheit-metallicity (PWZ) relations anchored using 346 Milky Way field RR Lyrae stars with Gaia parallaxes, and simultaneously solved for independent distances to globular clusters. We find a significant metallicity dependence of ∼0.2 mag dex−1 in the JHKs -band PLZ and PWZ relations for RR Lyrae stars independent of the adopted metallicity scale. The metallicity coefficients and the zero-points of the empirical PLZ and PWZ relations are in excellent agreement with the predictions from the horizontal branch evolution and pulsation models. Furthermore, RR Lyrae-based distances to our sample of globular clusters are also statistically consistent with other independent measurements in the literature. Our recommended empirical JHKs -band PLZ relations for RR Lyrae stars with periods of fundamental mode pulsation (Pf) are:formula presented

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85148771867

UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/CE170100013

U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f

DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/acba7f

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85148771867

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 944

SP - 1

EP - 7

JO - The Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - The Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 2

M1 - L51

ER -

Precise empirical determination of Metallicity dependence of near-infrared period-luminosity Relations for RR Lyrae variables

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