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 Gr
avitational 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 results of period analysis of ASAS, MACHO and OGLE light curves of 79 symbiotic stars classified as S and D-type. The light curves of 58 objects show variations with the orbital period. In case of 34 objects, orbital periods are estimated
for the first time, what increases the number of symbiotic stars with known orbital periods by about 64 %. The light curves of 46 objects show, in addition to the long-term or/and orbital variations, short-term variations with time scales of 50-200 days most likely due to stellar pulsations of the cool giant component. We also report eclipse-like minima and outbursts present in many of the light curves.
We present mid-IR photometry and spectra of the merged binary V1309 Sco taken between 18 and 23 months after outburst. Strong mid-IR emission and a solid state absorption feature indicate the presence of a significant amount of dust in the circumstel
lar environment. The absence of detectable mid-IR emission before the outburst suggests this dust was produced in the eruptive merger event. Model fits to the solid state absorption feature constrain the constituent species and column density of the dust around V1309 Sco. We find the absorption feature can be reproduced by large (3 micron) amorphous pyroxene grains at a temperature of 800 K. This grain size, if confirmed with longer wavelength spectroscopy and modelling, would be suggestive of dust processing in the circumstellar environment. The data in hand do not allow us to discriminate between disk or shell configurations for the dusty material.
We present a sample of 209 variable objects - very likely optical counterparts to the X-ray sources detected in the direction of the Galactic center by the Galactic Bulge Survey (GBS) carried out with the Chandra satellite. The variable sources were
found in the databases of the OGLE long term survey monitoring regularly the Galactic bulge since 1992. The counterpart candidates were searched based on the X-ray source position in the radius of 3.9. Optical light curves of the candidates comprise a full variety of variability types: spotted stars, pulsating red giants (potentially secondary stars of symbiotic variables), cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binary systems, irregular non-periodic objects including an AGN (GRS 1734-292). Additionally, we find that positions of 19 non-variable stars brighter than 16.5 mag in the OGLE databases are so well aligned with the X-ray positions (<0.75) that these objects are also likely optical counterparts to the GBS X-ray sources. We provide the OGLE astrometric and photometric information for all selected objects and their preliminary classifications. Photometry of the candidates is available from the OGLE Internet archive, http://ogle.astrouw.edu.pl
We present the results of a search for High Proper Motion (HPM) stars, i.e. the ones with mu > 100 mas/yr, in the direction to the Magellanic Clouds. This sky area was not examined in detail as the high stellar density hampers efforts in performing h
igh-quality astrometry. Altogether 549 HPM stars were found with median uncertainties of proper motions per coordinate equal to 0.5 mas/yr. The fastest HPM star has the proper motion of 722.19 +/- 0.74 mas/yr. For the majority of objects (70%) parallaxes were also measured. The highest value found is pi = 91.3 +/-1.6 mas. The parallaxes were used to estimate absolute magnitudes which enriched with color information show that 21 of HPM stars are white dwarfs. Other 23 candidate white dwarfs were selected of HPM stars with no measurable parallaxes using color-magnitude diagram. The search for common proper motion binaries revealed 27 such pairs in the catalog. The completeness of the catalog is estimated to be > 80% and it is slightly higher than for previous catalogs in the direction to the Magellanic Clouds.
We present OGLE-III Photometric Maps of the Galactic bulge fields observed during the third phase of the OGLE project. This paper describes the last, concluding set of maps based on OGLE-III data. The maps contain precise, calibrated VI photometry
of about 340 million stars from 267 fields in the Galactic bulge observed during entire OGLE-III phase (2002-2009), covering about 92 square degrees in the sky. Precise astrometry of these objects is also provided. We briefly discuss the photometry procedures and the quality of the data. We also present sample data and color-magnitude diagrams of the observed fields. All photometric data are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.
We have analyzed the data on 16,836 RR Lyrae (RR Lyr) variables observed toward the Galactic bulge during the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III), which took place in 2001-2009. Using these standard candles, we show
that the ratio of total to selective extinction toward the bulge is given by R_I=A_I/E(V-I)=1.080+/-0.007 and is independent of color. We demonstrate that the bulge RR Lyr stars form a metal-uniform population, slightly elongated in its inner part. The photometrically derived metallicity distribution is sharply peaked at [Fe/H]=-1.02+/-0.18, with a dispersion of 0.25 dex. In the inner regions (|l|<3, |b|<4) the RR Lyr tend to follow the barred distribution of the bulge red clump giants. The distance to the Milky Way center inferred from the bulge RR Lyr is R_0=8.54+/-0.42 kpc. We report a break in the mean density distribution at a distance of ~0.5 kpc from the center indicating its likely flattening. Using the OGLE-III data, we assess that (4-7)x10^4 type ab RR Lyr variables should be detected toward the bulge area of the on going near-IR VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey, where the uncertainty partially results from the unknown RR Lyr spatial density distribution within 0.2 kpc from the Galactic center.
We present OGLE-III Photometric Maps of the Galactic disk fields observed during the OGLE-III campaigns for low luminosity transiting objects that led to the discovery of the first transiting exoplanets. The maps contain precise, calibrated VI photom
etry of about 9 million stars from 21 OGLE-III fields in the Galactic disk observed in the years 2002-2009 and covering more than 7 square degrees in the sky. Precise astrometry of these objects is also provided. We discuss quality of the data and present a few color-magnitude diagrams of the observed fields. All photometric data are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.
The seventh part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars (OIII-CVS) consists of 4630 classical Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The sample includes 2626 fundamental-mode (F), 1644 first-overtone (1O), 83 second-overtone (2O), 59 double
-mode F/1O, 215 double-mode 1O/2O, and three triple-mode classical Cepheids. For each object basic parameters, multi-epoch VI photometry collected within 8 or 13 years of observations, and finding charts are provided in the OGLE Internet archive. We present objects of particular interest: exceptionally numerous sample of single-mode second-overtone pulsators, five double Cepheids, two Cepheids with eclipsing variations superimposed on the pulsation light curves. At least 139 first-overtone Cepheids exhibit low-amplitude secondary variations with periods in the range 0.60-0.65 of the primary ones. These stars populate three distinct sequences in the Petersen diagram. The origin of this secondary modulation is still unknown. Contrary to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) we found only a few candidates for anomalous Cepheids in the SMC. This fact may be a clue for the explanation of the origin of the anomalous Cepheids. The period and luminosity distributions of Cepheids in both Magellanic Clouds suggest that there are two or three populations of classical Cepheids in each of the galaxies. The main difference between the LMC and SMC lays in different numbers of Cepheids in each group. We fit the period-luminosity (PL) relations of SMC Cepheids and compare them with the LMC PL laws.
We have obtained deep near-infrared images in J and K filters of four fields in the Sculptor Group spiral galaxy NGC 247 with the ESO VLT and ISAAC camera. For a sample of ten Cepheids in these fields, previously discovered by Garc{i}a-Varela et al.
from optical wide-field images, we have determined mean J and K magnitudes and have constructed the period-luminosity (PL) relations in these bands. Using the near-infrared PL relations together with those in the optical V and I bands, we have determined a true distance modulus for NGC 247 of 27.64 mag, with a random uncertainty of $pm$2% and a systematic uncertainty of $sim$4% which is dominated by the effect of unresolved stars on the Cepheid photometry. The mean reddening affecting the NGC 247 Cepheids of E(B-V) = 0.18 $pm$ 0.02 mag is mostly produced in the host galaxy itself and is significantly higher than what was found in the previous optical Cepheid studies in NGC 247 of our own group, and Madore et al., leading to a 7% decrease in the previous optical Cepheid distance. As in other studies of our project, the distance modulus of NGC 247 we report is tied to an assumed LMC distance modulus of 18.50. Comparison with other distance measurements to NGC 247 shows that the present IR-based Cepheid distance is the most accurate among these determinations. With a distance of 3.4 Mpc, NGC 247 is about 1.5 Mpc more distant than NGC 55 and NGC 300, two other Sculptor Group spirals analyzed before with the same technique by our group.
