Multiperiodic Galactic field RR Lyrae stars in the ASAS catalogue

Abstract

The All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) monitors bright stars (8 < V < 14 mag) south of declination +28 ◦ . The ASAS Catalogue of Variable Stars (ACVS) presently contains 50 099 objects; among them are 2212 objects classified as RR Lyrae pulsating variables. We use ASAS photometric V-band data to search for multiperiodicity in those stars. We find that 73 of 1435 RRab stars and 49 of 756 RRc stars exhibit the Blazhko effect. We observe a deficiency of RRab Blazhko variables with main pulsation periods greater than 0.65 d. The Blazhko periods of RRc stars exhibit a strongly bimodal distribution. During our study we discovered the Blazhko effect with multiple periods in object ASAS 050747−3351.9 = SU Col. Blazhko periods of 89.3 and 65.8 d and a candidate of 29.5 d were identified with periodogram peaks near the first three harmonics of the main pulsation. These observations may inspire new models of the Blazhko effect, which has eluded a consistent theory since its discovery about one hundred years ago. Long-term light curve changes were found in 29 stars. We also found 19 Galactic double mode pulsators (RRd), of which four are new discoveries, raising the number of ASAS discoveries of such objects to 16, out of 27 known in the field of our Galaxy.