RR Lyrae stars and the distant Galactic halo - Distribution, chemical composition, kinematics, and dynamics

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (146) References (34) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS RR Lyrae stars and the distant galactic halo : distribution, chemical composition, kinematics and dynamics. Saha, A. Abstract The author here uses his earlier work on RR Lyrae stars in the galactic halo to probe the stellar population of the outer halo and to deduce the mass distribution in the far reaches of the Galaxy. The space densities of RR Lyrae stars are traced out to 33 kpc from the galactic center. When combined with data from other surveys, the run of RR Lyrae star densities covering a very wide range of galactocentric distances is available. The chemical abundances of these probe stars show a very wide spread of metallicity, [Fe/H] from -1.0 to -2.2. However, no net abundance gradient is seen in the far halo. From the radial velocities, the kinematics of these stars has been studied. The mass of the Galaxy within 25 kpc is derived via dynamical arguments to be about 3×1011M_sun;. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: February 1985 DOI: 10.1086/162890 Bibcode: 1985ApJ...289..310S Keywords: Galactic Structure; Milky Way Galaxy; Reference Stars; Stellar Composition; Stellar Motions; Density Distribution; Galactic Mass; Kinematics; Mass Distribution; Metallicity; Stellar Magnitude; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |