VVV SURVEY NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF KNOWN BULGE RR LYRAE STARS: THE DISTANCE TO THE GALACTIC CENTER AND ABSENCE OF A BARRED DISTRIBUTION OF THE METAL-POOR POPULATION
- Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 782-0436 Macul, Santiago (Chile)
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av. Marechal Rondon s/n, 49100-000, São Cristóvão, SE (Brazil)
We have combined optical and near-infrared data of known RR Lyrae (RRL) stars in the bulge in order to study the spatial distribution of its metal-poor component by measuring precise reddening values and distances of 7663 fundamental-mode RRL stars with high-quality photometry. We obtain a distance to the Galactic center of R {sub 0} = 8.33 ± 0.05 ± 0.14 kpc. We find that the spatial distribution of the RRL stars differs from the structures traced by the predominantly metal-rich red clump (RC) stars. Unlike the RC stars, the RRL stars do not trace a strong bar, but have a more spheroidal, centrally concentrated distribution, showing only a slight elongation in its very center. We find a hint of bimodality in the density distribution at high southern latitudes (b < –5°), which needs to be confirmed by extending the areal coverage of the current census. The different spatial distributions of the metal-rich and metal-poor stellar populations suggest that the Milky Way has a composite bulge.
- OSTI ID:
- 22215416
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 776, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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