New accurate and homogeneous optical UBVRI photometry has been obtained for variable stars in the Galactic globular cluster omega Cen (NGC 5139). We secured 8202 CCD images covering a time interval of 24 years and a sky area of 84 x 48 arcmin. The current data were complemented with data available in the literature and provided new, homogeneous pulsation parameters (mean magnitudes, luminosity amplitudes, periods) for 187 candidate omega Cen RR Lyrae (RRLs). Among them we have 101 RRc (first overtone) and 85 RRab (fundamental) variables, and a single candidate RRd (double-mode) variable. Candidate Blazhko RRLs show periods and colors that are intermediate between the RRc and RRab variables, suggesting that they are transitional objects. A comparison of the period distribution and the Bailey diagram indicates that RRLs in omega Cen show a long-period tail not present in typical Oosterhoff II (OoII) globulars. The RRLs in dwarf spheroidals and in ultra-faint dwarfs have properties between Oosterhoff intermediate and OoII clusters. Metallicity plays a key role in shaping the above evidence. These findings do not support the hypothesis that omega Cen is the core remnant of a spoiled dwarf galaxy. Using optical period-Wesenheit relations that are reddening-free and minimally dependent on metallicity we find a mean distance to omega Cen of 13.71 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.01 mag (semi-empirical and theoretical calibrations). Finally, we invert the I-band period-luminosity-metallicity relation to estimate individual RRLs' metal abundances. The metallicity distribution agrees quite well with spectroscopic and photometric metallicity estimates available in the literature.

Multi-channel CCD read-out, which is an option offered at most optical observatories, can significantly reduce the time spent on reading the detector. The penalty of using this option is the so-called amplifier cross-talk, which causes contamination across the output amplifiers, typically at the level of 1:10 000.This can be a serious problem for applications where high precision and/or high contrast is of importance. We represent an analysis of amplifier cross-talk for two instruments – FORS1 at the ESO VLT telescope Antu (Paranal) and DFOSC at the Danish 1.54 m telescope (La Silla) – and present a post-processing method for removing the imprint of cross-talk. It is found that cross-talk may significantly contaminate high-precision photometry in crowded fields, but it can be effectively eliminated during data reduction.

The extraordinary magnetic Ap star HD75049 has been studied with data obtained with the ESO VLT and 2.2-m telescopes. Direct measurements reveal that the magnetic field modulus at maximum reaches 30kG. The star shows photometric, spectral and magnetic variability with a rotation period of 4.049d. Variations of the mean longitudinal magnetic field can be described to first order by a centred dipole model with an inclination i = 25 degrees, an obliquity beta = 60 degrees, and a polar field B_p = 42kG. The combination of the longitudinal and surface magnetic field measurements imply a radius of R = 1.7 R sun, suggesting the star is close to the zero-age main sequence. HD75049 displays moderate overabundances of Si, Ti, Cr, Fe and large overabundances of rare earth elements. This star has the second strongest magnetic field of any main sequence star after Babcock's star, HD215441, which it rivals.

We report the discovery of short periodic radial velocity variations in the stars HD92499 and HD143487. Both stars show strong magnetic fields and large overabundances of rare earth elements and belong to the class of cool chemically peculiar stars of the main sequence. They are therefore new rapidly oscillating Ap stars. Pulsations were detected from analysis of high time resolution spectra obtained with the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope by using a cross-correlation method for large spectral bands and from combinations of lines belonging to rare earth elements. The amplitudes of the pulsations are small and do not exceed several dozens of m s(-1) with periods of around 10 min. The detection of such low amplitudes is important for the determination of which magnetic Ap stars pulsate, and which are constant, a distinction important for the understanding of the pulsation driving mechanism in these stars.

We present new intermediate-band Strömgren photometry based on more than 300 u, v, b, y images of the Galactic globular cluster ω Cen, covering a region of more than 20×20 arcmin squared across the cluster center. By adopting different Strömgren metallicity indices we estimate the photometric metallicity for ≈ 4, 000 Red Giants, the largest sample ever collected. The metallicity distributions show multiple peaks ([Fe/H]phot = −1.69±0.08, −1.28 ± 0.03, −1.07 ± 0.02, −0.88 ± 0.04, −0.71 ± 0.12 and −0.03 ± 0.08 dex) and a sharp cut-off in the metal-poor tail ([Fe/H]phot . −2 dex) that agree quite well with spectroscopic measurements. We identify four distinct sub-populations, namely metal-poor (MP, [Fe/H] ≤ −1.49), metal-intermediate (MI, −1.49 < [Fe/H] ≤ −0.93), metal-rich (MR, −0.95 < [Fe/H] ≤ −0.15) and solar metallicity (SM, [Fe/H] ≈ 0). The last group includes only a small fraction of stars (∼ 8 ± 5%) and should be confirmed spectroscopically.

We present new intermediate-band Strömgren photometry based on more than 300 u, v, b, y images of the Galactic globular cluster ω Cen. Optical data were supplemented with new multiband near-infrared (NIR) photometry (350 J, H, Ks images). The final optical–NIR catalog covers a region of more than 20 × 20 arcmin squared across the cluster center. We use different optical–NIR color–color planes together with proper-motion data available in the literature to identify candidate cluster red-giant (RG) stars. By adopting different Strömgren metallicity indices, we estimate the photometric metallicity for ≈4000 RGs, the largest sample ever collected. The metallicity distributions show multiple peaks ([Fe/H]phot = −1.73 ± 0.08, −1.29 ± 0.03, −1.05 ± 0.02, −0.80 ± 0.04, −0.42 ± 0.12, and −0.07 ± 0.08 dex) and a sharp cutoff in the metal-poor (MP) tail ([Fe/H]phot ≲ −2 dex) that agree quite well with spectroscopic measurements. We identify four distinct subpopulations, namely, MP ([Fe/H] ⩽ −1.49), metal-intermediate (MI; −1.49 < [Fe/H] ⩽ −0.93), metal-rich (MR; −0.95 < [Fe/H] ⩽ −0.15), and solar metallicity ([Fe/H] ≈ 0). The last group includes only a small fraction of stars (∼8% ± 5%) and should be confirmed spectroscopically. Moreover, using the difference in metallicity based on different photometric indices, we find that the 19% ± 1% of RGs are candidate CN-strong stars. This fraction agrees quite well with recent spectroscopic estimates and could imply a large fraction of binary stars. The Strömgren metallicity indices display a robust correlation with α-elements ([Ca+Si/H]) when moving from the MI to the MR regime ([Fe/H] ≳ −1.7 dex).

We have used high-speed spectroscopy of the rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) star HD99563 to study the pulsation amplitude and phase behaviour of elements in its stratified atmosphere over one 2.91-d rotation cycle. We identify spectral features related to patches in the surface distribution of chemical elements and study the pulsation amplitudes and phases as the patches move across the stellar disk. The variations are consistent with a distorted nonradial dipole pulsation mode. We measure a 1.6 km/s rotational variation in the mean radial velocities of H-alpha and argue that this is the first observation of H-alpha abundance spots caused by He settling through suppression of convection by the magnetic field on an oblique rotator, in support of a prime theory for the excitation mechanism of roAp star pulsation. We demonstrate that HD99563 is the second roAp star to show aspect dependence of blue-to-red running wave line profile variations in Nd iii spots.

We present deep and accurate Near-Infrared (NIR) photometry of the Galactic Globular Cluster (GC) ω Cen. Data were collected using the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) on VLT (ESO). The unprecedented quality of the images provided the opportunity to perform accurate photometry in the central crowded regions. Preliminary results indicate that the spread in age among the different stellar populations in ω Cen is limited.

We present deep and precise photometry (F435W, F625W, F658N) of ω Cen collected with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We have identified ≈6500 white dwarf (WD) candidates, and the ratio of WD to main-sequence (MS) star counts is found to be at least a factor of 2 larger than the ratio of CO-core WD cooling to MS lifetimes. This discrepancy is not explained by the possible occurrence of a He-enhanced stellar population, since the MS lifetime changes by only 15% when changing from a canonical (Y = 0.25) to a He-enhanced composition (Y = 0.42). The presence of some He-core WDs seems able to explain the observed star counts. The fraction of He WDs required ranges from 10% to 80% depending on their mean mass, and it is at least 5 times larger than for field WDs. The comparison in the color-magnitude diagram between theory and observations also supports the presence of He WDs. Empirical evidence indicates that He WDs have been detected in stellar systems hosting a large sample of extreme horizontal branch stars, thus suggesting that a fraction of red giants might avoid the He-core flash.

Chemically peculiar A stars (Ap) are extreme examples of the interaction of atomic element diffusion processes with magnetic fields in stellar atmospheres. The rapidly oscillating Ap stars provide a means for studying these processes in three dimensions and are at the same time important for studying the pulsation excitation mechanism in A stars. As part of the first comprehensive, uniform, high-resolution spectroscopic survey of Ap stars, which we are conducting in the Southern hemisphere with the Michigan Spectral Catalogues as the basis of target selection, we report here the discovery of 17 new magnetic Ap stars having spectroscopically resolved Zeeman components from which we derive magnetic field moduli in the range 3–30 kG. Among these are (1) the current second strongest known magnetic A star, (2) a double-lined Ap binary with a magnetic component and (3) an A star with particularly peculiar and variable abundances. Polarimetry of these stars is needed to constrain their field geometries and to determine their rotation periods. We have also obtained an additional measurement of the magnetic field of the Ap star HD 92499.

We present precise optical and near-infrared ground-based photometry of two globular clusters (GCs): omega Cen and 47 Tuc. These photometric catalogs are unbiased in the red giant branch (RGB) region close to the tip. We provide new estimates of the RGB tip (TRGB) magnitudes-m(1)(TRGB) = 9.84 +/- 0.05, omega Cen; m(1)(TRGB) = 9.46 +/- 0.06, 47 Tuc-and use these to determine the relative distances of the two GCs. We find that distance ratios based on different calibrations of the TRGB, the RR Lyrae stars, and kinematic distances agree with each other within 1 sigma. Absolute TRGB and RR Lyrae distance moduli agree within 0.10-0.15 mag, while absolute kinematic distance moduli are 0.2-0.3 mag smaller. Absolute distances to 47 Tuc based on the zero-age horizontal branch and on the white dwarf fitting agree within 0.1 mag, but they are 0.1-0.3 mag smaller than TRGB and RR Lyrae distances.

The Ap star HD 3980 appears to be a promising roAp candidate based on its fundamental parameters, leading us to search for rapid pulsations with the VLT UV-Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES). A precise Hipparcos parallax and estimated temperature of 8100 K place HD 3980 in the middle of the theoretical instability strip for rapidly oscillating Ap stars, about halfway through its main-sequence evolution stage. The star has a strong, variable magnetic field, as is typical of the cool magnetic Ap stars. Dipole model parameters were determined from VLT observations using Focal Reducer and low Dispersion Spectrograph (FORS)1. From Doppler shift measurements for individual spectral lines of rare-earth elements and the Hα line core, we find no pulsations above 20–30 m s−1. This result is corroborated by the inspection of lines of several other chemical elements, as well as with cross-correlation for long spectral regions with the average spectrum as a template. Abundances of chemical elements were determined and show larger than solar abundances of rare-earth elements. Further, ionization disequilibria for the first two ionized states of Nd and Pr are detected. We also find that the star has a strong overabundance of manganese, which is typical for much hotter HgMn and other Bp stars. Line profile variability with the rotation period was detected for the majority of chemical species.

. The central (cid:12)eld of NGC7062 was observed intensively with the main goal of (cid:12)nding (cid:14) Scuti stars suitable for use in asteroseismological tests of stellar structure and evolution theory. BV time series photometry was obtained for this northern open cluster, which has a large population of stars inside the (cid:14) Scuti instability strip, making it a probable host of several such variables. We report (cid:12)ndings of 15 pulsating stars, including at least 13 (cid:14) Scuti stars. Ten variables oscillate in two or more frequencies. Only one of these variables was known before, for which we detected 9 frequencies. Five probable variables are mentioned, and period analysis is given for all 20 stars.

Recently, Tiwari, Chaubey & Pandey detected the bright component of the visual binary HD 151878 to exhibit rapid photometric oscillations through a Johnson B filter with a period of 6 min (2.78 mHz) and a high, modulated amplitude up to 22 mmag peak-to-peak, making this star by far the highest amplitude rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) star known. As a new roAp star, HD 151878 is of additional particular interest as a scarce example of the class in the northern sky, and only the second known case of an evolved roAp star – the other being HD 116114. We used the FIbre-fed Echelle Spectrograph at the Nordic Optical Telescope to obtain high time-resolution spectra at high dispersion to attempt to verify the rapid oscillations. We show here that the star at this epoch is spectroscopically stable to rapid oscillations of no more than a few tens of m s−1. The high-resolution spectra furthermore show the star to be of type Am rather than Ap and we show the star lacks most of the known characteristics for roAp stars. We conclude that this is an Am star that does not pulsate with a 6-min period. The original discovery of pulsation is likely to be an instrumental artefact.