Browsing by Author "Masetti, N."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 22
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    Accurate classification of 75 counterparts of objects detected in the 54-month Palermo Swift/BAT hard X-ray catalogue
    (2014) Parisi, P.; Masetti, N.; Rojas, A. F.; Jiménez Bailón, E.; Chavushyan, V.; Palazzi, E.; Bassani, L.; Bazzano, A.; Bird, A. J.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Morelli, L.; Ubertini, P.; Parisi, P.; Masetti, N.; Rojas, A. F.; Jiménez Bailón, E.; Chavushyan, V.; Palazzi, E.; Bassani, L.; Bazzano, A.; Bird, A. J.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Morelli, L.; Ubertini, P.
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    Identifying the host galaxy of the short GRB 100628A
    (EDP SCIENCES S A, 2015) Guelbenzu, A. Nicuesa; Klose, S.; Palazzi, E.; Greiner, J.; Michalowski, M. J.; Kann, D. A.; Hunt, L. K.; Malesani, D.; Rossi, A.; Savaglio, S.; Schulze, S.; Xu, D.; Afonso, P. M. J.; Elliott, J.; Ferrero, P.; Filgas, R.; Hartmann, D. H.; Kruehler, T.; Knust, F.; Masetti, N.; Olivares E, F.; Rau, A.; Schady, P.; Schmidl, S.; Tanga, M.; Updike, A. C.; Varela, K.
    We report on the results of a comprehensive observing campaign to reveal the host galaxy of the short GRB 100628A. This burst was followed by a faint X-ray afterglow but no optical counterpart was discovered. However, inside the X-ray error circle a potential host galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.102 was soon reported in the literature. If this system is the host, then GRB 100628A was the cosmologically most nearby unambiguous short burst with a measured redshift so far. We used the multi-colour imager GROND at the ESO/La Silla MPG 2.2 in telescope. ESO/VLT spectroscopy, and deep Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) radio-continuum observations together with publicly available Gemini imaging data to study the putative host and the galaxies in the field of GRB 100628A. We confirm that inside the X-ray error circle the most probable host-galaxy candidate is the morphologically disturbed, interacting galaxy system at z = 0.102. The interacting galaxies are connected by a several kpc long tidal stream, which our VLT/FORS2 spectroscopy reveals strong emission lines of [O II] [O III], H alpha and H beta, characteristic for the class of extreme emission-line galaxies and indicative of ongoing star formation. The latter leaves open the possibility that the ORB progenitor was a member of a young stellar population. However, we indentify a second host-galaxy candidate slightly outside the X-ray error circle. It is a radio-bright, luminous elliptical galaxy at a redshift z = 0.311. With a K-band luminosity of 2 x 10(11) L-circle dot this galaxy resembles the probable giant elliptical host of the first well-localized short burst. GRB 050509B. If this is the host, then the progenitor of GRB 100628A was a member of an old stellar population.
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    Optical spectroscopic observations of gamma-ray blazar candidates VIII : the 2016-2017 follow up campaign carried out at SPM, NOT, KPNO and SOAR telescopes
    (2019) Marchesini, E.J.; Pena Herazo, H.A.; Crespo, N. Alvarez; Ricci, Claudio; Negro, M.; Milisav, D.; Massaro, F.; Masetti, N.; Landoni, M.; Chavushyan, V.
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    Optical spectroscopic observations of gamma-ray blazar candidates. IX. Optical archival spectra and further observations from SOAR and OAGH
    (2019) Pena-Herazo, H.A.; Massaro, F.; Chavushyan, V.; Marchesini, E.J.; Paggi, A.; Landoni, M.; Masetti, N.; Ricci, Claudio; D'Abrusco, R.; Milisavljevic, D.; Jiménez-Bailón, E.; La Franca, F.; Smith, Howard A.; Tosti, G.
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    Revealing the Nature of New Unidentified Integral Sources
    (2010) Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    Symbiotic stars in OGLE data - I. Large magellanic cloud systems
    (2014) Angeloni, Rodolfo; Ferreira Lopes, C.E.; Masetti, N.; Di Mille, F.; Pietrukowicz, Pawel; Udalski, A.; Navarrete Silva, Camila Andrea; Puzia, Thomas H.; Catelan, Márcio; Guzmán Carmine, Christian Dani; Schaefer, B. E.; Parisi, P.; Landi, R.
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    The nature of 50 Palermo Swift-BAT hard X-ray objects through optical spectroscopy
    (2017) Rojas, A. F.; Masetti, N.; Minniti, D.; Jiménez Bailón, E.; Chavushyan, V.; Hau, G.; McBride, V. A.; Bassani, L.; Bazzano, A.; Galaz, Gaspar; Rojas, A. F.; Masetti, N.; Minniti, D.; Jiménez Bailón, E.; Chavushyan, V.; Hau, G.; McBride, V. A.; Bassani, L.; Bazzano, A.; Galaz, Gaspar
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    The VVV Survey of the Milky Way: first year results
    (2011) Minniti, D.; Clariá, J. J.; Saito, R. K.; Hempel, M.; Lucas, P. W.; Rejkuba, M.; Toledo, I.; Gonzalez, O. A.; Alonso-García, J.; Irwin, M. J.; Gonzalez-Solares, E.; Cross, N.; Ivanov, V. D.; Soto, M.; Dékány, I.; Angeloni, R.; Catelan, Marcio; Amôres, E. B.; Gurovich, S.; Emerson, J. P.; Lewis, J.; Hodgkin, S.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Zoccali, M.; Sale, S. E.; Barbá, R.; Barbuy, B.; Beamin, J. C.; Helminiak, K.; Borissova, J.; Folkes, S. L.; Gamen, R. C.; Geisler, D.; Mauro, F.; Chené, A. -N.; Alonso, M. V.; Gunthardt, G.; Hanson, M.; Kerins, E.; Kurtev, R.; Majaess, D.; Martín, E.; Masetti, N.; Mirabel, I. F.; Monaco, L.; Moni Bidin, C.; Padilla, N.; Rojas, A.; Pietrzynski, G.; Saviane, I.; Valenti, E.; Weidmann, W.; López-Corredoira, M.; Ahumada, A. V.; Aigrain, S.; Arias, J. I.; Bica, E.; Bandyopadhyay, R. M.; Baume, G.; Bedin, L. R.; Bonatto, C.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Contreras, C.; Davis, C. J.; de Grijs, R.; Dias, B.; Drew, J. E.; Fariña, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernández Lajús, E.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; Gosling, A.; Hambly, N. C.; Hoare, M.; Jordán, A.; Kinemuchi, K.; Maccarone, T.; Merlo, D. C.; Mennickent, R. E.; Morelli, L.; Motta, V.; Palma, T.; Popescu, B.; Parisi, M. C.; Parker, Q.; Pignata, G.; Read, M. A.; Ruiz, M. T.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Schreiber, M. R.; Schröder, A. C.; Smith, M.; Sodré, L., Jr.; Stephens, A. W.; Walton, N. A.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M. A.; Vanzi, L.
    The VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) is an ESO public near-IR variability survey that is scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the Galactic mid-plane. The survey will take 1929 hours of observations with the VISTA 4.1-m telescope during five years, covering a billion point sources across an area of 520 sqdeg, including 36 known globular clusters and more than 350 open clusters. The final product will be a deep IR atlas in five passbands (0.9 - 2.5 microns) and a catalogue of more than a million variable point sources....
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    The VVV Survey: New Results (Part I)
    (2014) Minniti, D.; Saito, R. K.; Hempel, M.; Lucas, P. W.; Rejkuba, M.; Toledo, I.; Gonzalez, O. A.; Alonso-García, J.; Irwin, M. J.; Gonzalez-Solares, E.; Hodgkin, S. T.; Lewis, J. R.; Cross, N.; Ivanov, V. D.; Kerins, E.; Emerson, J. P.; Soto, M.; Amôres, E. B.; Gurovich, S.; Dékány, I.; Angeloni, R.; Beamin, J. C.; Catelan, Marcio; Padilla, N.; Zoccali, M.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Moni Bidin, C.; Mauro, F.; Geisler, D.; Folkes, S. L.; Sale, S. E.; Borissova, J.; Kurtev, R.; Ahumada, A. V.; Alonso, M. V.; Adamson, A.; Arias, J. I.; Bandyopadhyay, R. M.; Barbá, R. H.; Barbuy, B.; Baume, G. L.; Bedin, L. R.; Benjamin, R.; Bica, E.; Bonatto, C.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Chenè, A. N.; Clariá, J. J.; Clarke, J. R. A.; Contreras, C.; Corvillón, A.; de Grijs, R.; Dias, B.; Drew, J. E.; Fariía, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernández-Lajús, E.; Gamen, R. C.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; González-Fernández, C.; Grand, R. J. J.; Gunthardt, G.; Hambly, N. C.; Hanson, M. M.; Helminiak, K.; Hoare, M. G.; Huckvale, L.; Jordán, A.; Kinemuchi, K.; Longmore, A.; López-Corredoira, M.; Maccarone, T.; Majaess, D.; Martín, E.; Masetti, N.; Mennickent, R. E.; Mirabel, I. F.; Monaco, L.; Morelli, L.; Motta, V.; Palma, T.; Parisi, M. C.; Parker, Q.; Peñaloza, F.; Pietrzyński, G.; Pignata, G.; Popescu, B.; Read, M. A.; Rojas, A.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Ruiz, M. T.; Saviane, I.; Schreiber, M. R.; Schröder, A. C.; Sharma, S.; Smith, M. D.; Sodré, L.; Stead, J.; Stephens, A. W.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M. A.; Valenti, E.; Vanzi, L.; Walton, N. A.; Weidmann, W.; Zijlstra, A.
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    The VVV Survey: New Results (Part II)
    (2014) Minniti, D.; Saito, R. K.; Hempel, M.; Lucas, P. W.; Rejkuba, M.; Toledo, I.; Gonzalez, O. A.; Alonso-García, J.; Irwin, M. J.; Gonzalez-Solares, E.; Hodgkin, S. T.; Lewis, J. R.; Cross, N.; Ivanov, V. D.; Kerins, E.; Emerson, J. P.; Soto, M.; Amôres, E. B.; Gurovich, S.; Dékány, I.; Angeloni, R.; Beamin, J. C.; Catelan, Marcio; Padilla, N.; Zoccali, M.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Moni Bidin, C.; Mauro, F.; Geisler, D.; Folkes, S. L.; Sale, S. E.; Borissova, J.; Kurtev, R.; Ahumada, A. V.; Alonso, M. V.; Adamson, A.; Arias, J. I.; Bandyopadhyay, R. M.; Barbá, R. H.; Barbuy, B.; Baume, G. L.; Bedin, L. R.; Benjamin, R.; Bica, E.; Bonatto, C.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Chenè, A. N.; Clariá, J. J.; Clarke, J. R. A.; Contreras, C.; Corvillón, A.; de Grijs, R.; Dias, B.; Drew, J. E.; Fariña, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernández-Lajús, E.; Gamen, R. C.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; González-Fernández, C.; Grand, R. J. J.; Gunthardt, G.; Hambly, N. C.; Hanson, M. M.; Helminiak, K.; Hoare, M. G.; Huckvale, L.; Jordán, A.; Kinemuchi, K.; Longmore, A.; López-Corredoira, M.; Maccarone, T.; Majaess, D.; Martín, E.; Masetti, N.; Mennickent, R. E.; Mirabel, I. F.; Monaco, L.; Morelli, L.; Motta, V.; Palma, T.; Parisi, M. C.; Parker, Q.; Peñaloza, F.; Pietrzyński, G.; Pignata, G.; Popescu, B.; Read, M. A.; Rojas, A.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Ruiz, M. T.; Saviane, I.; Schreiber, M. R.; Schröder, A. C.; Sharma, S.; Smith, M. D.; Sodré, L.; Stead, J.; Stephens, A. W.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M. A.; Valenti, E.; Vanzi, L.; Walton, N. A.; Weidmann, W.; Zijlstra, A.
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    Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy IX. Twenty two more identifications, and a glance into the far hard X-ray Universe
    (2012) Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy VIII. Identification of 44 newly detected hard X-ray sources
    (2010) Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy X. A new multi-year, multi-observatory campaign
    (2013) Masetti, N.; Rojas Heinz, Antonio Fernando.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Rojas Heinz, Antonio Fernando.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Rojas Heinz, Antonio Fernando.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Rojas Heinz, Antonio Fernando.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. V. Identification and properties of 21 southern hard X-ray sources
    (2006) Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. VI. A multi-observatory identification campaign
    (2008) Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    Unveiling the nature of INTEGRAL objects through optical spectroscopy. VII. Identification of 20 Galactic and extragalactic hard X-ray sources
    (2009) Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.; Masetti, N.; Galaz, Gaspar; Minniti, D.
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    VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV): Current Status and First Results
    (2010) Saito, R.; Hempel, M.; Alonso-García, J.; Toledo, I.; Borissova, J.; González, O.; Beamin, J. C.; Minniti, D.; Lucas, P.; Emerson, J.; Ahumada, A.; Aigrain, S.; Alonso, M. V.; Amôres, E.; Angeloni, R.; Arias, J.; Bandyopadhyay, R.; Barbá, R.; Barbuy, B.; Baume, G.; Bedin, L.; Bica, E.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Catelan, Marcio; Clariá, J.; Contreras, C.; Cross, N.; Davis, C.; de Grijs, R.; Dékány, I.; Janet Drew, J. D.; Fariña, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernández Lajús, E.; Folkes, S.; Gamen, R.; Geisler, D.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; Gosling, A.; Gunthardt, G.; Gurovich, S.; Hambly, N.; Hanson, M.; Hoare, M.; Irwin, M.; Ivanov, V.; Jordán, A.; Kerins, E.; Kinemuchi, K.; Kurtev, R.; Longmore, A.; López-Corredoira, M.; Maccarone, T.; Martín, E.; Masetti, N.; Mennickent, R.; Merlo, D.; Messineo, M.; Mirabel, F.; Monaco, L.; Moni Bidin, C.; Morelli, L.; Padilla, N.; Palma, T.; Parisi, M. C.; Parker, Q.; Pavani, D.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Pietrzynski, G.; Pignata, G.; Rejkuba, M.; Rojas, A.; Roman Lopes, A.; Ruiz, M. T.; Sale, S.; Saviane, I.; Schreiber, M.; Schröder, A.; Sharma, S.; Smith, M.; Sodré, L., Jr.; Soto, M.; Stephens, A.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M.; Valenti, E.; Vanzi, L.; Weidmann, W.; Zoccali, M.
    VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) is a public ESO near-IR variability survey aimed at scanning the Milky Way Bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane. VVV observations started in October 2009 during ESO science verification. Regular observations for the first year of the survey have been conducted since February 2010 and will cover a total area of 520 square degrees in five passbands and five epochs. Here we address the first results obtained from the VVV Survey as well as the current status of the observations....
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    VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV): Halfway Status and Results
    (2014) Hempel, M.; Minniti, D.; Dékány, I.; Saito, R. K.; Lucas, P. W.; Emerson, J. P.; Ahumada, A. V.; Aigrain, S.; Alonso, M. V.; Alonso-García, J.; Amôres, E. B.; Angeloni, R.; Arias, J.; Bandyopadhyay, R.; Barbá, R. H.; Barbuy, B.; Baume, G.; Beamin, J. C.; Bedin, L.; Bica, E.; Borissova, J.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Catelan, Marcio; Clariá, J. J.; Contreras, C.; Cross, N.; Davis, C.; de Grijs, R.; Drew, J. E.; Fariña, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernández-Lajús, E. F.; Folkes, S.; Gamen, R. C.; Geisler, D.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; González, O.; Gosling, A.; Gunthardt, G.; Gurovich, S.; Hambly, N. C.; Hanson, M.; Hoare, M.; Irwin, M. J.; Ivanov, V. D.; Jordán, A.; Kerins, E.; Kinemuchi, K.; Kurtev, R.; Longmore, A.; López-Corredoira, M.; Maccarone, T.; Martín, E.; Masetti, N.; Mennickent, R. E.; Merlo, D.; Messineo, M.; Mirabel, I. F.; Monaco, L.; Moni-Bidin, C.; Morelli, L.; Padilla, N.; Palma, T.; Parisi, M. C.; Parker, Q.; Pavani, D.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Pietrzynski, G.; Pignata, G.; Rejkuba, M.; Rojas, A.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Ruiz, M. T.; Sale, S. E.; Saviane, I.; Schreiber, M. R.; Schröder, A. C.; Sharma, S.; Smith, M.; Sodré, L., Jr.; Soto, M.; Stephens, A. W.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M. A.; Toledo, I.; Valenti, E.; Vanzi, L.; Weidmann, W.; Zoccali, M.
    The VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey is one of six near-infrared ESO public surveys, and is now in its fourth year of observing. Although far from being complete, the VVV survey has already delivered many results, some directly connected to the intended science goals (detection of variable stars, microlensing events, new star clusters), others concerning more exotic objects, e.g., novae. Now, at the end of the fourth observing period, and comprising roughly 50% of the proposed observations, the status of the survey, as well some of results based on the VVV data, are presented....
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    VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV): The public ESO near-IR variability survey of the Milky Way
    (ELSEVIER, 2010) Minniti, D.; Lucas, P. W.; Emerson, J. P.; Saito, R. K.; Hempel, M.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Ahumada, A. V.; Alonso, M. V.; Alonso Garcia, J.; Arias, J. I.; Bandyopadhyay, R. M.; Barba, R. H.; Barbuy, B.; Bedin, L. R.; Bica, E.; Borissova, J.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Catelan, M.; Claria, J. J.; Cross, N.; de Grijs, R.; Dekany, I.; Drew, J. E.; Farina, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernandez Lajus, E.; Gamen, R. C.; Geisler, D.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; Gonzalez, O. A.; Gunthardt, G.; Gurovich, S.; Hambly, N. C.; Irwin, M. J.; Ivanov, V. D.; Jordan, A.; Kerins, E.; Kinemuchi, K.; Kurtev, R.; Lopez Corredoira, M.; Maccarone, T.; Masetti, N.; Merlo, D.; Messineo, M.; Mirabel, I. F.; Monaco, L.; Morelli, L.; Padilla, N.; Palma, T.; Parisi, M. C.; Pignata, G.; Rejkuba, M.; Roman Lopes, A.; Sale, S. E.; Schreiber, M. R.; Schroeder, A. C.; Smith, M.; Sodre, L., Jr.; Soto, M.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M. A.; Toledo, I.; Zoccali, M.; Pietrzynski, G.
    We describe the public ESO near-IR variability survey (VVV) scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane where star formation activity is high. The survey will take 1929 h of observations with the 4-m VISTA telescope during 5 years (2010-2014), covering similar to 10(9) point sources across an area of 520 deg(2), including 33 known globular clusters and similar to 350 open clusters. The final product will be a deep near-IR atlas in five passbands (0.9-2.5 mu m) and a catalogue of more than 106 variable point sources. Unlike single-epoch surveys that, in most cases, only produce 2-D maps, the VVV variable star survey will enable the construction of a 3-D map of the surveyed region using well-understood distance indicators such as RR Lyrae stars, and Cepheids. It will yield important information on the ages of the populations. The observations will be combined with data from MACHO, OGLE, EROS, VST, Spitzer, HST, Chandra, INTEGRAL, WISE, Fermi LAT, XMM-Newton, GAIA and ALMA for a complete understanding of the variable sources in the inner Milky Way. This public survey will provide data available to the whole community and therefore will enable further studies of the history of the Milky Way, its globular cluster evolution, and the population census of the Galactic Bulge and center, as well as the investigations of the star forming regions in the disk. The combined variable star catalogues will have important implications for theoretical investigations of pulsation properties of stars. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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    VVV DR1: The first data release of the Milky Way bulge and southern plane from the near-infrared ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Via Lactea
    (EDP SCIENCES S A, 2012) Saito, R. K.; Hempel, M.; Minniti, D.; Lucas, P. W.; Rejkuba, M.; Toledo, I.; Gonzalez, O. A.; Alonso Garcia, J.; Irwin, M. J.; Gonzalez Solares, E.; Hodgkin, S. T.; Lewis, J. R.; Cross, N.; Ivanov, V. D.; Kerins, E.; Emerson, J. P.; Soto, M.; Amores, E. B.; Gurovich, S.; Dekany, I.; Angeloni, R.; Beamin, J. C.; Catelan, M.; Padilla, N.; Zoccali, M.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Bidin, C. Moni; Mauro, F.; Geisler, D.; Folkes, S. L.; Sale, S. E.; Borissova, J.; Kurtev, R.; Ahumada, A. V.; Alonso, M. V.; Adamson, A.; Arias, J. I.; Bandyopadhyay, R. M.; Barba, R. H.; Barbuy, B.; Baume, G. L.; Bedin, L. R.; Bellini, A.; Benjamin, R.; Bica, E.; Bonatto, C.; Bronfman, L.; Carraro, G.; Chene, A. N.; Claria, J. J.; Clarke, J. R. A.; Contreras, C.; Corvillon, A.; de Grijs, R.; Dias, B.; Drew, J. E.; Farina, C.; Feinstein, C.; Fernandez Lajus, E.; Gamen, R. C.; Gieren, W.; Goldman, B.; Gonzalez Fernandez, C.; Grand, R. J. J.; Gunthardt, G.; Hambly, N. C.; Hanson, M. M.; Helminiak, K. G.; Hoare, M. G.; Huckvale, L.; Jordan, A.; Kinemuchi, K.; Longmore, A.; Lopez Corredoira, M.; Maccarone, T.; Majaess, D.; Martin, E. L.; Masetti, N.; Mennickent, R. E.; Mirabel, I. F.; Monaco, L.; Morelli, L.; Motta, V.; Palma, T.; Parisi, M. C.; Parker, Q.; Penaloza, F.; Pietrzynski, G.; Pignata, G.; Popescu, B.; Read, M. A.; Rojas, A.; Roman Lopes, A.; Ruiz, M. T.; Saviane, I.; Schreiber, M. R.; Schroeder, A. C.; Sharma, S.; Smith, M. D.; Sodre, L., Jr.; Stead, J.; Stephens, A. W.; Tamura, M.; Tappert, C.; Thompson, M. A.; Valenti, E.; Vanzi, L.; Walton, N. A.; Weidmann, W.; Zijlstra, A.
    Context. The ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) started in 2010. VVV targets 562 sq. deg in the Galactic bulge and an adjacent plane region and is expected to run for about five years.