Probing the galactic halo with RR Lyrae stars I: The catalog

Abstract

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) surveys. Nearly 70 per cent of them (3,642 objects) also have systemic radial velocities measured. Given the pulsating nature of RRLs, metallicity estimates are based on spectra of individual exposures, by matching them with the synthetic templates. The systemic radial velocities are measured by fitting the observed velocity as a function of phase assuming an empirical pulsating velocity template curve. Various tests show that our analyses yield metallicities with a typical precision of 0.20\,dex and systemic radial velocities with uncertainties ranging from 5 to 21\,km\,s${}^{-1}$ (depending on the number of radial velocity measurements available for a given star). Based on the well calibrated near-infrared $P{M}_{W1}Z$ or $P{M}_{K_{\mathrm{s}}}Z$, and $M_V$-[Fe/H] relations, precise distances are derived for these RRLs. Finally, we include Gaia DR2 proper motions in our catalog. The catalog should be very useful for various Galactic studies, especially of the Galactic halo.

14 pages, 10 figures, Accepted by ApJS

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• Metallicity of Galactic RR Lyrae from Optical and Infrared Light Curves: I. Period-Fourier-Metallicity Relations for Fundamental Mode RR Lyrae
• On the use of field RR Lyrae as Galactic probes: IV. New insights into and around the Oosterhoff dichotomy
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• Probing the Galactic halo with RR Lyrae stars $-$ III. The chemical and kinematic properties of the stellar halo
• On the Use of Field RR Lyrae as Galactic Probes. VI. Mixed mode RR Lyrae variables in Fornax and in nearby dwarf galaxies
• A Radial Velocity Search for Binary RR Lyrae Variables
• RR Lyrae stars as probes of the outer Galactic halo: Chemical and kinematic analysis of a pilot sample
• Photometric-Metallicity and Distance Estimates for $\sim$70,000 RR Lyrae Stars from the Zwicky Transient Facility
• Probing the Galactic halo with RR Lyrae stars -- IV. On the Oosterhoff dichotomy of RR Lyrae stars
• Possible evidence of hydrogen emission in the first-overtone and multi-mode RR Lyrae variables
• Two Different Weak Modulations in ab-type RR Lyrae Variable V838 Cyg, and Potential Influence of Metal Abundance on Blazhko Modulation
• A Study of Pulsation properties of 57 Non-Blazhko effect ab-type RR Lyrae stars with homogeneous metallicities from the LAMOST-Kepler/K2 survey
• Exploring the Sagittarius stream with RR Lyrae Stars from Gaia Data Release 3
• On the Use of Field RR Lyrae as Galactic Probes -- VIII. Early Formation of the Galactic Spheroid
• Reconsidering The Bailey Diagrams of ab-type RR Lyrae Stars, Metallicity-Mediated Evolution as the Direct Cause of the Oosterhoff Phenomenon
• Metallicity estimation of RR Lyrae stars from their I-band light curves
• Identifications of RR Lyrae stars and Quasars from the simulated data of Mephisto-W Survey
• Probing the Milky Way Halo with RR Lyrae Stars from Gaia Data Release 3
• rrlfe: Software for Generating and Applying Metallicity Calibrations for RR Lyrae Variable Stars Across a Wide Range of Phases and Temperatures