Another new small-amplitude red variable star with period of about one day in the globular cluster M4

Abstract

A66 is a red star located at the lowest end of the red giant branch (near the top of the sub-giant branch) of the globular cluster M4. According to its location on the GM diagram, A66 may be a cluster member. No proper motion and radial velocity determinations are available up to date. We discovered that A66 is a small-amplitude new variable star with a period of about one day and the peak to peak amplitude is about 0.05 mag in V. However, if its membership can be confirmed by proper motion and radial velocity determinations, the cause of light variation may be not pulsation. This is because according to Xiong's theory, a red star at such low luminosity can not pulsate at a period longer than 0.1 day. Then other causes such as EW type eclipsing variable star or rotation of a spotted star might be responsible. Otherwise A66 is not a cluster member.