STREGA (STRucture and Evolution of the GAlaxy) is a Guaranteed Time survey being performed at the VST (the ESO VLT Survey Telescope) to map about 150 square degrees in the Galactic halo, in order to constrain the mechanisms of galactic formation and
evolution. The survey is built as a five-year project, organized in two parts: a core program to explore the surrounding regions of selected stellar systems and a second complementary part to map the southern portion of the Fornax orbit and extend the observations of the core program. The adopted stellar tracers are mainly variable stars (RR~Lyraes and Long Period Variables) and Main Sequence Turn-off stars for which observations in the g,r,i bands are obtained. We present an overview of the survey and some preliminary results for three observing runs that have been completed. For the region centered on $omega$~Cen (37 deg^2), covering about three tidal radii, we also discuss the detected stellar density radial profile and angular distribution, leading to the identification of extratidal cluster stars. We also conclude that the cluster tidal radius is about 1.2 deg, in agreement with values in the literature based on the Wilson model.
We calculate the dust formed around AGB and SAGB stars of metallicity Z=0.008 by following the evolution of models with masses in the range 1M<M<8M throughthe thermal pulses phase, and assuming that dust forms via condensation of molecules within a w
ind expanding isotropically from the stellar surface. We find that, because of the strong Hot Bottom Burning (HBB) experienced, high mass models produce silicates, whereas lower mass objects are predicted to be surrounded by carbonaceous grains; the transition between the two regimes occurs at a threshold mass of 3.5M. These fndings are consistent with the results presented in a previous investigation, for Z=0.001. However, in the present higher metallicity case, the production of silicates in the more massive stars continues for the whole AGB phase, because the HBB experienced is softer at Z=0.008 than at Z=0.001, thus the oxygen in the envelope, essential for the formation of water molecules, is never consumed completely. The total amount of dust formed for a given mass experiencing HBB increases with metallicity, because of the higher abundance of silicon, and the softer HBB, both factors favouring a higher rate of silicates production. This behaviour is not found in low mass stars,because the carbon enrichment of the stellar surface layers, due to repeated Third Drege Up episodes, is almost independent of the metallicity. Regarding cosmic dust enrichment by intermediate mass stars, we find that the cosmic yield at Z=0.008 is a factor 5 larger than at Z=0.001. In the lower metallicity case carbon dust dominates after about 300 Myr, but at Z=0.008 the dust mass is dominated by silicates at all times,with a prompt enrichment occurring after about 40 Myr, associated with the evolution of stars with masses M =7.5 -8M.
Spectroscopy has shown the presence of the CN band dicothomy and the Na-O anticorrelations for 50--70% of the investigated samples in the cluster 47 Tuc, otherwise considered a normal prototype of high metallicity clusters from the photometric analys
is. Very recently, the re-analysis of a large number of archival HST data of the cluster core has been able to put into evidence the presence of structures in the Sub Giant Branch: it has a brighter component with a spread in magnitude by $sim$0.06 mag and a second one, made of about 10% of stars, a little fainter (by $sim$0.05 mag). These data also show that the Main Sequence of the cluster has an intrinsic spread in color which, if interpreted as due to a small spread in helium abundance, suggests $Delta$Y$sim$0.027. In this work we examine in detail whether the Horizontal Branch morphology and the Sub Giant structure provide further independent indications that a real --although very small-helium spread is present in the cluster. We re--analyze the HST archival data for the Horizontal Branch of 47 Tuc, obtaining a sample of $sim$500 stars with very small photometric errors, and build population synthesis based on new models to show that its particular morphology can be better explained by taking into account a spread in helium abundance of 2% in mass. The same variation in helium is able to explain the spread in luminosity of the Sub Giant Branch, while a small part of the second generation is characterized by a small C+N+O increase and provides an explanation for the fainter Sub Giant Branch. We conclude that three photometric features concur to form the paradigm that a small but real helium spread is present in a cluster that has no spectacular evidence for multiple populations like those shown by other massive clusters.
We have carried out a new photometric study of the remote Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419, using proprietary and archive B,V,I time-series CCD photometry of the cluster, that allowed us to discover a large number of new variable stars and to obtai
n a new colour magnitude diagram that reaches V ~26 mag over a field of 50X43 square arcmin centered on NGC 2419. The new variables include 39 RR Lyrae and 11 SX Phoenicis stars. The pulsation properties of the new RR Lyrae stars confirm and strengthen the classification of NGC 2419 as an Oosterhoff type II cluster.
We present a new, deep (V ~ 26) study of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419 based on B,V,I time-series CCD photometry over about 10 years and extending beyond the cluster published tidal radius. We have identified 101 variable stars of which 60 a
re new discoveries, doubling the known RR Lyrae stars and including 12 SX Phoenicis stars. The average period of the RR Lyrae stars (<Pab>=0.662 d, and <Pc>=0.366 d, for fundamental-mode -RRab- and first-overtone pulsators, respectively), and the position in the period-amplitude diagram both confirm that NGC 2419 is an Oosterhoff II cluster. The average apparent magnitude of the RR Lyrae stars is <V>=20.31 +/- 0.01 (sigma=0.06, 67 stars) and leads to the distance modulus (m-M)o=19.60 +/- 0.05. The Color-Magnitude Diagram, reaching about 2.6 mag below the cluster turn-off, does not show clear evidence of multiple stellar populations. Cluster stars are found until r~ 10.5, and possibly as far as r~15, suggesting that the literature tidal radius might be underestimated. No extra-tidal structures are clearly detected in the data. NGC 2419 has many blue stragglers and a well populated horizontal branch extending from the RR Lyrae stars down to an extremely blue tail ending with the blue-hook, for the first time recognized in this cluster. The red giant branch is narrow ruling out significant metallicity spreads. Our results seem to disfavor the interpretation of NGC 2419 as either having an extragalactic origin or being the relict of a dwarf galaxy tidally disrupted by the Milky Way.
