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We present 97 QSO candidates in 48 Galactic Bulge fields of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment II (OGLE-II) covering about 11 square degrees, which are selected via their variability. We extend light curves of variable objects which were detected in 3-year baseline in the OGLE-II variable star catalog to 4th year. We search for objects which are faint (16<I_0<18.5) and slowly variable during 4 years in this catalog by using the variogram/structure function. Finding the QSOs in such stellar-crowded and high extinction fields is challenging, but should be useful for the astrometric reference frame. Spectroscopic follow-up observations are required to confirm these QSO candidates. Follow-up observations are being prepared for four of these fields (BUL_SC1, 2, 32 and 45). Follow-up observations for other fields are strongly encouraged. The complete list and light curves of all 97 candidates are available in electronic format at http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~sumi/QSO-OGLEII/.
We present the reddening (E(V-I)) and Extinction maps in V-band (A_V) and I-band (A_I) for 48 Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment II (OGLE-II) Galactic bulge (GB) fields, covering a range of $-11^circ <l< 11^circ$, with the total area close to 11 square degrees. These measurements are based on two-band photometry of Red Clump Giant (RCG) stars in OGLE-II VI maps of GB. We confirm the anomalous value of the ratio of total to selective extinction $R_{VI} = A_V / E(V-I) = 1.9 sim 2.1$, depending on the line of sight, as measured by Udalski (2003). By using the average value of $R_{VI}=1.964$ with the standard deviation sdev=0.085, we measured E(V-I), A_V and A_I, and we obtained extinction and reddening maps with a high spatial resolution of $ 26.7sim 106.8$, depending on the stellar density of each field. We assumed that average, reddening corrected colours of red clump giants are the same in every field. The maps cover the range 0.42<E(V-I)<3.5, 0.83<A_V<6.9 and 0.41<A_I<3.4 mag respectively. The zero points of these maps are calibrated by using V-K colours of 20 RR Lyrae ab variables (RRab) in Baades window. The apparent reddening corrected I-band magnitudes of the RCGs change by +0.4 mag while the Galactic coordinate l varies from $+5^{circ}$ to $-5^{circ}$, indicating that these stars are in the Galactic Bar. The reddening corrected colour of RRab and RCGs in GB are consistent with colours of local stars, while in the past these colours were claimed to be different.
We present the discovery and statistical analysis of $12;660$ spotted variable stars toward and inside the Galactic bulge from over two-decade-long Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) data. We devise a new method of dereddening of individual stars toward the Galactic bulge where strong and highly nonuniform extinction is present. In effect, $11;812$ stars were classified as giants and $848$ as dwarfs. Well defined correlations between the luminosity, variability amplitude and rotation period were found for the giants. Rapidly rotating dwarfs with periods $P leq 2$ d show I-band amplitudes lower than 0.2 mag which is substantially less than the amplitudes of up to 0.8 mag observed in giants and slowly rotating dwarfs. We also notice that amplitudes of stars brighter than $I_0 approx 16$ mag do not exceed 0.3-0.4 mag. We divide the stars into three groups characterized by correlation between light and color variations. The positive correlation is characteristic for stars that are cooler when fainter, which results from the variable coverage of the stellar surface with spots similar to the sunspots. The variability of stars that are cooler when brighter (negative correlation) can be characterized by chemical spots with overabundance of heavy elements inside and variable line-blanketing effect, which is observed in chemically peculiar stars. The null correlation may results from very high level of the magnetic activity with rapidly variable magnetic fields. This division is readily visible on the color-magnitude diagram (CMD), which suggests that it may depend on the radius of the stars. We detect 79 flaring objects and discuss briefly their properties. Among others, we find that relative brightening during flares is correlated with brightness amplitude.
We have extracted a total of 1968 Mira variables from the OGLE-II data base in the Galactic bulge region. Among them, 1960 are associated with 2MASS sources, and 1541 are further identified with MSX point sources. Their photometric properties are compared with those of Mira variables in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. We have found that mass-losing stars with circumstellar matter are reddened such that the colour dependence of the absorption coefficient is similar to that of interstellar matter. We also discuss the structure of the bulge. The surface number density of the bulge Mira variables is well correlated with the 2.2-micron surface brightness obtained by the COBE satellite. Using this relation, the total number of Mira variables in the bulge is estimated to be about 600,000. The logP-K relation of the Mira variables gives their space distribution which supports the well-known asymmetry of the bar-like bulge.
We present the most comprehensive picture ever obtained of the central parts of the Milky Way probed with RR Lyrae variable stars. This is a collection of 38257 RR Lyr stars detected over 182 square degrees monitored photometrically by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) in the most central regions of the Galactic bulge. The sample consists of 16804 variables found and published by the OGLE collaboration in 2011 and 21453 RR Lyr stars newly detected in the photometric databases of the fourth phase of the OGLE survey (OGLE-IV). 93% of the OGLE-IV variables were previously unknown. The total sample consists of 27258 RRab, 10825 RRc, and 174 RRd stars. We provide OGLE-IV I- and V-band light curves of the variables along with their basic parameters. About 300 RR Lyr stars in our collection are plausible members of 15 globular clusters. Among others, we found the first pulsating variables that may belong to the globular cluster Terzan 1 and the first RRd star in the globular cluster M54. Our survey also covers the center and outskirts of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy enabling studies of the spatial distribution of the old stellar population from this galaxy. A group of double-mode RR Lyr stars with period ratios around 0.740 form a stream in the sky that may be a relic of a cluster or a dwarf galaxy tidally disrupted by the Milky Way. Three of our RR Lyr stars experienced a pulsation mode switching from double-mode to single fundamental mode or vice versa. We also present the first known RRd stars with large-amplitude Blazhko effect.
We present a systematic search for parallax microlensing events among a total of 512 microlensing candidates in the OGLE II database for the 1997-1999 seasons. We fit each microlensing candidate with both the standard microlensing model and also a parallax model that accounts for the Earths motion around the Sun. We then search for the parallax signature by comparing the chi^2 of the standard and parallax models. For the events which show a significant improvement, we further use the `duration of the event and the signal-to-noise ratio as criteria to separate true parallax events from other noisy microlensing events. We have discovered one convincing new candidate, sc33_4505, and seven other marginal cases. The convincing candidate (sc33_4505) is caused by a slow-moving, and likely low-mass, object, similar to other known parallax events. We found that irregular sampling and gaps between observing seasons hamper the recovery of parallax events. We have also searched for long-duration events that do not show parallax signatures. The lack of parallax effects in a microlensing event puts a lower-limit on the Einstein radius projected onto the observer plane, which in turn imposes a lower limit on the lens mass divided by the relative lens-source parallax. Most of the constraints are however quite weak.