Evidence for Galactic disc RR Lyrae stars in the solar neighbourhood

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a kinematical study of 314 RR Lyrae stars in the solar neighbourhood using the publicly available photometric, spectroscopic, and Gaia DR2 astrometric data to explore their distribution in the Milky Way. We report an overdensity of 22 RR Lyrae stars in the solar neighbourhood at a pericentre distance of between 5 and 9 kpc from the Galactic Centre. Their orbital parameters and their chemistry indicate that these 22 variables share the kinematics and the [Fe/H] values of the Galactic disc, with an average metallicity and tangential velocity of [Fe/H] = −0.60 dex and vθ = 241 km s−1, respectively. From the distribution of the Galactocentric spherical velocity components, we find that these 22 disc-like RR Lyrae variables are not consistent with the Gaia Sausage (Gaia-Enceladus), unlike almost half of the local RR Lyrae stars. Chemical information from the literature shows that the majority of the selected pericentre-peak RR Lyrae variables are α-poor, a property shared by typically much younger stars in the thin disc. Using the available photometry, we rule out a possible misclassification with the known classical and anomalous Cepheids. The similar kinematic, chemical, and pulsation properties of these disc RR Lyrae stars suggest they share a common origin. In contrast, we find that the RR Lyrae stars associated with the Gaia-Enceladus based on their kinematics and chemical composition show a considerable metallicity spread in the old population (∼1 dex).