Browsing by Author "Kunder, Andrea"

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    G2C2-IV.A novel approach to study the radial distributions of multiple populations in Galactic globular clusters
    (OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2015) Vanderbeke, Joachim; De Propris, Roberto; De Rijcke, Sven; Baes, Maarten; West, Michael; Alonso Garcia, Javier; Kunder, Andrea
    We use the horizontal branch (HB) morphology of 48 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) to study the radial distributions of the different stellar populations known to exist in GCs. Assuming that the (extremely) blue HB stars correspond to stars enriched in helium and light elements, we compare the radial distributions of stars selected according to colour on the HB to trace the distribution of the secondary stellar populations in GCs. Unlike other cases, our data show that the populations are well mixed in 80 per cent of the cases studied. This provides some constraints on the mechanisms proposed to pollute the interstellar medium in young GCs.
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    HST proper motions on the far side of the Galactic bar-data
    (2023) Soto, Mario; Kuijken, Konrad; Rich, R. Michael; Clarkson, William, I; Castellon, Jose Luis Nilo; Fernandez-Trincado, Jose G.; Ramos, Rodrigo Contreras; Kunder, Andrea; Baravalle, Laura D.; Alonso, M. Victoria; Simion, Iulia T.; Johnson, Christian, I; Vieira, Katherine
    This is the third paper in a series that attempts to observe a clear signature of the Galactic bar/bulge using kinematic observations of the bulge stellar populations in low foreground extinction windows. We report on the detection of & SIM;100 000 new proper motions in four fields covering the far side of the Galactic bar/bulge, at negative longitudes. Our proper motions have been obtained using observations from the Advance Camera for Surveys (ACS), on board of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), with a time-baseline of 8-9 years, which has produced accuracies better than 0.5 mas yr(-1) for a significant fraction of the stellar populations with F814W < 23 mag. Interestingly, as shown in previous works, the Hess diagrams show a strikingly similar proper motion distribution to fields closer to the Galactic center and consistent with an old stellar population. The observed kinematics point to a significant bulge rotation, which seems to predominate even in fields as far as l & SIME; -8 & DEG;, and is also reflected in the changes of the velocity ellipsoid in the l, b plane as a function of distance.
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    PERIOD CHANGE SIMILARITIES AMONG THE RR LYRAE VARIABLES IN OOSTERHOFF I AND OOSTERHOFF II GLOBULAR SYSTEMS
    (2011) Kunder, Andrea; Walker, Alistair; Stetson, Peter B.; Bono, Giuseppe; Nemec, James M.; de Propris, Roberto; Monelli, Matteo; Cassisi, Santi; Andreuzzi, Gloria; Dall'Ora, Massimo; Di Cecco, Alessandra; Zoccali, Manuela
    We present period change rates (dP/dt) for 42 RR Lyrae variables in the globular cluster IC 4499. Despite clear evidence of these period increases or decreases, the observed period change rates are an order of magnitude larger than predicted from theoretical models of this cluster. We find that there is a preference for increasing periods, a phenomenon observed in most RR Lyrae stars in Milky Way globular clusters. The period change rates as a function of position in the period-amplitude plane are used to examine possible evolutionary effects in OoI clusters, OoII clusters, field RR Lyrae stars, and the mixed-population cluster. Centauri. It is found that there is no correlation between the period change rate and the typical definition of Oosterhoff groups. If the RR Lyrae period changes correspond with evolutionary effects, this would be in contrast to the hypothesis that RR Lyrae variables in OoII systems are evolved horizontal-branch stars that spent their zero-age horizontal-branch phase on the blue side of the instability strip. This may suggest that age may not be the primary explanation for the Oosterhoff types.
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    RR Lyrae in the LMC: Insights Into the Oosterhoff Phenomenon
    (2013) Kuehn, Charles A; Smith, Horace A.; Catelan, Marcio; Jeon, Young-Beom; Nemec, James M.; Walker, Alistair R.; Kunder, Andrea; Dame, Kyra; Pritzl, Barton J.; De Lee, Nathan; Borissova, Jura
    Although more than eight decades have passed since P. Th. Oosterhoff drew attention to differences in the properties of RR Lyrae variables in globular clusters, the origin and significance of the Oosterhoff groups remain unclear. Nonetheless, the accumulation of extensive new observations of RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters of the Milky Way and Local Group galaxies allows a fresh look at the phenomenon. Insights come not only from surveys of variables within the original Oosterhoff groups I and II but also from recent observations of the Oosterhoff-intermediate systems found especially in smaller Local Group galaxies. We will compare properties of RR Lyrae in several systems to investigate what they reveal about system-to-system differences of transition temperature between fundamental-mode and first overtone pulsators and of horizontal branch luminosity. Both transition temperature and horizontal branch luminosity have at various times been credited as playing roles in the creation of the Oosterhoff dichotomy....
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    RR Lyrae Stars Belonging to the Candidate Globular Cluster Patchick 99
    (2024) Butler, Evan; Kunder, Andrea; Prudil, Zdenek; Covey, Kevin R.; Ball, Macy; Campos, Carlos; Gollnick, Kaylen; Carvajal, Julio Olivares; Hughes, Joanne; Devine, Kathryn; Johnson, Christian I.; Vivas, A. Katherina; Rich, R. Michael; Joyce, Meridith; Simion, Iulia T.; Marchetti, Tommaso; Koch-Hansen, Andreas J.; Clarkson, William I.; Kuss, Rebekah
    Patchick 99 is a candidate globular cluster located in the direction of the Galactic bulge, with a proper motion almost identical to the field and extreme field star contamination. A recent analysis suggests it is a low-luminosity globular cluster with a population of RR Lyrae stars. We present new spectra of stars in and around Patchick 99, targeting specifically the three RR Lyrae stars associated with the cluster as well as the other RR Lyrae stars in the field. A sample of 53 giant stars selected from proper motions and a position on the color-magnitude diagram are also observed. The three RR Lyrae stars associated with the cluster have similar radial velocities and distances, and two of the targeted giants also have radial velocities in this velocity regime and [Fe/H] metallicities that are slightly more metal-poor than the field. Therefore, if Patchick 99 is a bona fide globular cluster, it would have a radial velocity of -92 +/- 10 km s-1, a distance of 6.7 +/- 0.4 kpc (as determined from the RR Lyrae stars), and an orbit that confines it to the inner bulge.
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    RR Lyrae Variables in NGC 2808
    (2011) Kunder, Andrea; Stetson, Peter B.; Catelan, Marcio; Amigo, Pía; de Propris, Roberto
    NGC 2808 is a unique globular cluster with not only a bimodal-horizontal branch (HB) but also with gaps on the blue horizontal branch. Adequate interpretation of the nature of the detected peculiarities in "bimodal" and "gap" clusters is of paramount importance for understanding the nature of the second parameter phenomenon and scenarios for the formation of the Galaxy. Although RR Lyrae variables are HB stars that can provide powerful constraints to models on the origin of bimodal HBs, unfortunately, until recently, only one RR Lyrae variable was known in this cluster. Here we present the first calibrated time-series CCD photometry for newly discovered fundamental mode RR Lyrae variables in NGC 2808, with observations over a range of twenty years. Investigations of RR Lyrae variable stars in this peculiar, bimodal-horizontal branch globular cluster are carried out to account for its formation, and the effects of helium enrichment and differential reddening. The Oosterhoff classification of NGC 2808, which has recently been associated with a previously unknown dwarf galaxy in Canis Major, is also discussed....