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Paper: Searching for the (Very Few) RR Lyrae Stars in Ultra-Faint Dwarf Satellites of the Milky Way
Volume: 529, RR Lyrae/Cepheid 2019: Frontiers of Classical Pulsators
Page: 240
Authors: Vivas, A. K.; Martínez-Vázquez, C.; Walker, A.
Abstract: Finding RR Lyrae stars in ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) satellites is important since it allows us to obtain the distance to these objects in an independent way. They also allow us to get an insight on the stellar populations of UFDs and the role that these galaxies may have had in the formation of the halo of the Milky Way. Here we describe our effort to increase the census of RR Lyrae stars in UFD galaxies. This includes our own observations for several systems as well as the use of the Gaia catalog of RR Lyrae stars. UFDs host very few RR Lyrae stars, most having only 1–3 stars. Interestingly, some systems have also extra-tidal RR Lyrae stars, an indication that the UFD is likely disrupting. Contrary to what is seen in the Galactic Halo, the RR Lyrae stars do not clearly follow any of the Oosterhoff group loci on a period-amplitude diagram. This is probably an indication that their contribution to the formation of the Galactic halo is a minor one.
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