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For the first time accurate pulsation properties of the ancient variable stars of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph) are discussed in the broad context of galaxy formation and evolution. Homogeneous multi-band $BVI$ optical photometry of spanning {it twenty} years has allowed us to identify and characterize more than 1400 RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) in this galaxy. Roughly 70% are new discoveries. We investigate the period-amplitude distribution and find that Fornax shows a lack of High Amplitude (A$_Vgsim$0.75 mag) Short Period fundamental-mode RRLs (P$lsim$0.48 d, HASPs). These objects occur in stellar populations more metal-rich than [Fe/H]$sim$-1.5 and they are common in the Galactic halo (Halo) and in globulars. This evidence suggests that old (age older than 10 Gyr) Fornax stars are relatively metal-poor. A detailed statistical analysis of the role of the present-day Fornax dSph in reproducing the Halo period distribution shows that it can account for only a few to 20% of the Halo when combined with RRLs in massive dwarf galaxies (Sagittarius dSph, Large Magellanic Cloud). This finding indicates that Fornax-like systems played a minor role in building up the Halo when compared with massive dwarfs. We also discuss the occurrence of HASPs in connection with the luminosity and the early chemical composition of nearby dwarf galaxies. We find that, independently of their individual star formation histories, bright (M$_Vlsim$-13.5 mag) galaxies have HASPs, whereas faint ones (M$_Vgsim$-11 mag) do not. Interestingly enough, Fornax belongs to a luminosity range (--11$<$M$_V<$--13.5 mag) in which the occurrence of HASPs appears to be correlated with the early star formation and chemical enrichment of the host galaxy.
We discuss the role that dwarf galaxies may have played in the formation of the Galactic halo (Halo) using RR Lyrae stars (RRL) as tracers of their ancient stellar component. The comparison is performed using two observables (periods, luminosity ampl
We show that tagging RR Lyrae stars according to their location in the period-amplitude diagram can be used to shed light on the genesis of the Galactic stellar halo. The mixture of RR Lyrae of ab type, separated into classes along the lines suggeste
We present the analysis of 12227 type-ab RR Lyrae found among the 200 million public lightcurves in the Catalina Surveys Data Release 1 (CSDR1). These stars span the largest volume of the Milky Way ever surveyed with RR Lyrae, covering ~20,000 square
We present a catalog of 5,290 RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) with metallicities estimated from spectra of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) surve
We characterize the spatial density of the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) sample of RR Lyrae stars, to study the properties of the old Galactic stellar halo as traced by RRab stars. This sample of 44,403 sources spans Galactocentric radii of $0.55 ; mathrm{kpc} l